


A Road Less Travelled, Part 3

by honeyandginger (l_ostsheep3)



Series: A Road Less Travelled [3]
Category: Dukes Of Hazzard: 1979, Television - Fandom, The Dukes of Hazzard (TV), The Dukes of Hazzard - All Media Types
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Incest, KInk - Incest, M/M, graphic m/m
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-28 14:10:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 34,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5093615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/l_ostsheep3/pseuds/honeyandginger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When one Duke's secret gets out, others are sure to follow</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Road Less Travelled, Part 3

 

Bo Duke had been home from the hospital for only a few days, but already he was getting restless. More than once Luke or Daisy had to send him back inside to rest after finding him out tinkering under the hood of the General Lee.

Luke finally had enough when he found Bo bent over the car engine for the fifth time in three days. “Bo Duke!”

Bo lifted his head quickly and conked it against the hood of the orange stock car. “Ow!” He rubbed his head and turned to his cousin. “Why’d ya go and make me do that?”

Luke ignored the question. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“The fuel mix seemed off when we were coming home from the hospital.”

“The fuel mix is just fine.  I tuned it myself not a week ago.”

“Ya see, there ya go, you worked on it so of course you think it’s fine.”

“Bo…” The look Luke gave his cousin could have seared right through the metal of the car, but didn’t faze the blond a bit. 

“Luke, all y’all want me to do is sit around and rest and read car magazines.”

“What’s wrong with that? Half the time we can’t get ya to do anything when we want you to.”

“I’m bored!  I ain’t used to sitting around and I did so much of it at that danged hospital. I can’t take it no more.”

Luke shook his head at his cousin and gave him a look of exasperation.  “Bo, the doctor said you need a couple of weeks at least to start healing.” Luke started to walk away from the car, trusting his cousin to follow him. “You were hurt pretty bad, cousin.  It wasn’t just a minor cut from scrapin’ yourself along the windshield when you rolled a car.”

“I know, but don’t you trust me to know how I feel?”

Luke gave Bo a piercing look. “Not with this I don’t.  I know you’re restless.  I know you’re used to going out and doing things.  But you can’t right now.  Please just take it easy for now.  You go back to follow up with Doctor Livingston in a little over a week.  If he says you’re healed enough to start doing some work, we’ll talk.” Luke was having a hard time putting it from his mind just how close they’d come to losing the younger man this time.

Bo sighed as he looked at Luke and wiped his grimy hands on a rag. “Okay,” he relented. “Okay, I’ll take it easy.  Just please don’t ask me to stay in our room all the time.”

“Deal.” Luke smiled at Bo and held out his hand, patting Bo on the back as the blond shook hands with him.

The next week and a half were some of the slowest days of Bo’s life, though he respected his cousin’s wishes and didn’t try to do too much, he was going stir crazy.  Even Cooter bringing him new magazines didn’t seem to help.

Luke kept a close eye on his cousin, sending the younger man inside – though not without a fight – if he seemed to be getting too tired or too sore.  Luke also invoked the medic training he’d had in the service to get Bo to allow him to check the wounds, though it was mostly  just a way to reassure himself that Bo was going to be fine.  

Both boys were actually relieved when Daisy decreed that Bo could help some in the kitchen, stringing beans, snapping peas and shucking corn. None of the jobs were Bo’s favorites, but at least they killed time until he could be out racing around Hazzard with his cousin again.

 

Bo sat up in bed and looked out the window on the morning that he was to go to Capital City to follow up with the doctor, a huge grin on his face.

Luke looked over, it was rare in his memory that Bo actually willingly got out of bed. “Don’t you look like the cat that ate the canary.”

“I can’t wait to get in the General and get out of here.”

“You do realize you’re going to the doctor?” Luke smiled wryly as his cousin just shrugged. “And we’re taking Dixie, I’ve already arranged it with Daisy.”

Bo’s head turned so fast toward his cousin that he nearly got whiplash. “What!? No!”

“Yes.”

“But Luke!”

“Don’t you ‘but Luke’ me. You don’t need to go climbing in and out of any car windows until the doctor says you can.  It was bad enough that you managed to get yourself brought home in the General.”

Bo rolled his eyes. “Luke, I’m fine, just fine. You’ll see.” 

Luke wasn’t about to give in though, he still had nightmares about Bo lying on the floor of the Boar’s Nest, blood seeping through the shirt that he was using to try to staunch the flow.  He didn’t bother to share any of that with Bo though.  “Once the doctor says it’s okay, the first thing we’ll do is go out in the General. Now get dressed while I get to chores.  If we’re late for breakfast, Daisy won’t feed us.”

“I can’t get her to stop feeding me,” Bo muttered as he sat on the edge of his bed and tugged on socks and jeans.

Luke just snorted. “To have such problems,” he said with a wry chuckle as he finished buttoning his own shirt and checked over his shoulder to make sure his cousin was decent before he opened the door to head out.

Bo watched Luke leave, frustrated that the older man didn’t understand.  He was restless, bored and to top it off, it seemed no one was letting him out of their sight for anything.  Bo finished dressing and tucked his wallet into his jeans pocket, then headed out to the kitchen, greeting his girl cousin with a kiss on the cheek and a hearty “Good morning.”

“Ain’t you in a good mood today,” Jesse said as he came in from the porch, the egg basket in hand.

“He’s hoping the doctor will let him off of rest,” Daisy answered for Bo.

Bo rolled his eyes again and shook his head. “I need something to do besides sit around and string beans all day – no offense,” he added quickly.

“Yeah, a young boy needs to be able to go out and roam around,” Jesse said, leveling his gaze on his nephew. “You just be sure to come home when you’re done roamin’.”

Bo nodded, “I will Uncle Jesse,” he promised, though he couldn’t help but think of the fact that just a few weeks ago Jesse himself had kicked him out.  

Jesse watched as Bo set the table and Daisy got food set out. He said a little silent prayer of thanks, realizing once again how lucky he was that his kids had given him a second chance, after the mess he’d made of things.  

Luke came in not long after, and the family settled around the table to enjoy the homemade flapjacks and sausage that were Daisy’s specialty.  

 

“Luke, come on, can’t we take the General?” Bo asked as the two of them left the house to go to the doctor.

“We already had this discussion, Bo,” Luke answered as he headed to the driver’s side of Daisy’s Jeep, Dixie.

“I know. I figured it couldn’t hurt to try,” Bo responded as he climbed into the passenger side of the Jeep and buckled his lap belt.

Luke got himself settled in and glanced over at his cousin, noting the changes in Bo’s coloring over just the past few days.  When he’d first been released from the hospital, his skin was almost as yellow as his hair, but rest and sunshine had done the trick and he did look nearly like his old self.  “I promise, if the doc gives you the all clear, we’ll come back and trade Dixie for the General and go for a ride.  Okay?”

Bo looked over at his cousin, his deep blue eyes showing that he still wasn’t thrilled, but finally he nodded. “Okay.”

“Well, Mr. Duke,” the young doctor said as he walked into the examining room, “how are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling great,” Bo answered from where he sat on the exam table.

“But he still gets tired easily,” Luke added from the corner where he was sitting in a chair.

The doctor smiled at the overprotective brunet. “Well, let’s take a look and see how the wounds are healing, hmm?  Mr. Duke,” the doctor said, looking at Luke, “if you’ll give us a few minutes.”

“He can stay,” Bo said, shifting uncomfortably in the exam gown, his butt getting cold from where he felt exposed.

“If you’re sure.”

“Doc, we’ve been sharing a room and practically everything else since we was kids. I ain’t shy about anything with Luke.”

“Okay,” the doctor answered, starting to move aside the gown to check the stab wound on Bo’s back.

_You might rethink that, cousin of mine, if only you knew…_ Luke thought as he watched the doctor carefully checking his cousin over.  He tried not to stare, he really did, but he couldn’t help it, he did stare a little. “How is it, Doc?” Luke finally asked.

“Well….” The doctor stood back to look at both cousins. “The wound seems to be healing cleanly, there’s not much bruising around the incision, which is good, if there was it could indicate an internal bleeding problem.” He gently pressed on the wound and felt around it. “How’s that feel?” he asked Bo.

“It ain’t horrible,” Bo answered, though the first touch did make him wince a little.

“Good, good.” The doctor stood back again. “It seems to be healing nicely.”

“Can I start doing stuff again?” Bo asked.

“I don’t see why you can’t. No heavy lifting though – or acrobatics.  I want you to take it easy, but some light work and easy stretching should help.  I’ll give you some cream to rub into the skin around the wound every day – you’ll probably need help with that.” The doctor glanced at Luke as he said those words, knowing that the two were close, since Luke hardly left Bo’s side when the younger Duke was in the hospital.

“No problem, I can help him with that,” Luke answered, giving the doctor a smile. 

“Can I ride in the General again?” Bo asked, not even thinking about the fact that the doctor wouldn’t know who he was talking about.

“The General? Is that a horse or something?”

 

“No,” Luke explained, “he’s our race car. I haven’t been letting Bo in him because the suspension is not what you’d call gentle – and the doors are welded shut.”

“Well, I wouldn’t recommend going out racing next weekend, but I can’t see as riding in the car would pose any issues.”

“Thank you!” Bo beamed.

“You’re welcome. I’ll want to see you again in eight weeks, for another follow up. If you experience any pain that can’t be handled with a couple of aspirin, I want you to come back right away.  Other than that, you appear to be well on your way to recovery.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” Luke answered for Bo and shook the doctor’s hand, earning himself a mild glare from the blond in question.

“You’re welcome.” The doctor shook Luke’s hand, then Bo’s. “I’ll have a nurse come in to get you in a few minutes, if you’d like to get changed while you wait.”

“I will, thanks.” 

“Certainly; see you in eight weeks,” the young doctor said, turning and heading out the door, which closed gently behind him.

“See, I told you I could ride in the General,” Bo said, hopping down from the table and going around the screen in the corner to get dressed again.

“Now you can,” Luke answered, giving his cousin a smile.  “I’m sorry, Bo, this one was just too close for me to risk you over something like that.”

Bo thought about those words as he got dressed, making a note to get the whole story out of Luke when they had a few minutes to themselves.

 

The ride back to the Duke farm was made in mostly companionable silence, the noise of the Jeep too much to allow for easy talking.  When Luke pulled the white Jeep into the farm yard next to the General Lee, Bo was nearly out of the seat before he could come to a full stop.

“Bo!” Luke scolded, putting the car into park and jumping down from the seat.  Bo was in the driver’s seat of the General before Luke could get fully out of the other vehicle. “I was gonna drive.”

“Oh, come on, Luke…” Bo gave Luke a pleading look, blue eyes shining.

“Okay, but don’t scare me,” Luke relented, settling himself into the passenger seat, as was customary.

Bo just laughed as he started the car, dropped it into gear and spun the tires as he tore out of the driveway.

“BO!” Luke grabbed the doorframe. “I told you not to scare me!”

Bo slowed it down a bit, taking the corners at speed but not recklessly. “This is how I always drive.” The blond grinned at the brunet.

Luke glared daggers at his cousin and held on as Bo took them on a ride around the county.

Bo laughed as he took corners and made short hops, handling the car like he hadn’t just been kept from it for a good few weeks.  He finally felt alive again, something that he’d been missing since the night he’d gotten hurt. 

Luke finally settled back in his seat and took to watching his cousin. He would never openly admit it, but it was good to see Bo behind the wheel again, laughing and smiling. It had been too long since he’d seen true joy on his cousin’s face, lighting his blue eyes. With a fond shake of his head, Luke turned again to look out the windshield and enjoy the ride.

 

Bo pulled in front of the farmhouse, the tires spitting dirt as the car came to a stop. He hit the horn and the sound of “Dixie” filled the air, along with his laugh – and much to his surprise, Luke’s laugh as well.  “See, was that so bad?”

Luke gave Bo a wry smile. “Well…” he started, then broke up at the look on his cousin’s face “nah, wasn’t too bad. It was good to see you driving and laughing again.”

“It was good to be able to again.” Bo smiled and patted the dashboard. “Thanks, General.”

Luke had to laugh again at that. “You’re nuts.”

“Takes one to know one,” Bo answered, sliding out of the driver’s side window and heading for the barn to help with chores.

“You ain’t gotta do chores!” Luke said, catching up with Bo halfway across the farm yard.

“Don’t start again, I’m fine. Doc said I can do some work.”

Luke glowered, but shook his head and gave in. “Okay, but you’re milking and gathering eggs, I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Okay.” Bo answered sullenly, he wasn’t too happy about Luke ordering him around, but figured best not to push Luke about the division of chores right now.

 

Jesse smiled at his boys as they came into the house from chores. “I noticed you had the General out, I’m guessing that means everything went okay at the doctor?”

“Yep, right as rain,” Bo answered, grinning.

“He wants to see you again in eight weeks, cousin.”

“Luke, don’t be such a wet blanket,” Bo complained.

Jesse shook his head at his youngest. “I think Luke just wants to make sure that you don’t overdo it.”

“Exactly,” Luke responded.

“I won’t, I’m just glad to be able to do anything other than sitting around the house.”

“I know,” Luke said, giving his cousin a smile.

“Luke just worries about you,” Jesse said, smiling at his eldest.

“I know – and I appreciate it.”

“Sure ya do,” Luke added, smirking at the blond.

“Best to get washed up, this supper’ll be ready soon,” Jesse said, giving the pot of crawdad bisque simmering on the stove another stir.

“Yes Sir!” the boys answered in unison, grinning as they headed toward the bathroom.

 

Supper that night was a lively event, the crawdad bisque some of Jesse’s finest, the conversation fast-paced as the boys talked of their day, and what they planned on doing, now that Bo was able.  Daisy couldn’t stop talking about a wedding she was going to for a friend of hers.  

Jesse looked around the table at his kids, his blue eyes shining with the love he felt for each of them.  

Luke saw the look in Jesse’s eyes and smiled at him. “Penny for your thoughts, Uncle Jesse.”

“Just thinking how glad I am to have all of ya home.”

Bo smiled at his uncle. “We’re glad to be home, ain’t we guys?”

“Yeah, we are. And ain’t none of us planning on leavin’ again,” Daisy answered.

“I wouldn’t say that, but not for a long time anyway,” Bo said.

“Well, I figured you and Luke would stay and run the farm, even if I do leave eventually.”

Luke caught what was unspoken behind Daisy’s words and gave her a look to get her to shush. “We’ll have to see about that, don’t none of us know what’s coming down the pike,” Luke said, picking up a biscuit and taking a bite.

“True, true,” Jesse agreed. “We’ll just have to see.”

 

The next few weeks passed quickly for the Duke family, it was harvest time, which meant a lot of work for the boys – or at least Luke as he still wasn’t letting Bo do too much.  Days were passed in the field, Bo driving the tractor, Luke manning the harvesting equipment. Nights were spent on the porch, sipping beer or iced tea and listening to the cicadas. 

Things went along so smoothly during the harvest, soon it was the last day. Luke had just settled on the porch for his nightly beer, when Bo came out of the house, freshly showered and dressed in ‘going to town’ clothes – his normal yellow shirt and dark blue jeans, only they weren’t as well worn.

“Where are you off to?” Luke asked past a catch in his throat that he hoped Bo didn’t notice.

“I’m meeting Justin in town.”

“Oh,” Luke answered, “Well, have fun.”

“Don’t worry, we will.” Bo turned and grinned at his cousin, whistling as he stepped off the porch.

 

Jesse walked out of the house just as Bo reached the car. “Where’s he off to?” Jesse asked as he watched his youngest climb into the General Lee.

“He’s meeting Justin,” Luke answered, taking another sip of his beer to wash down the sour taste in his mouth.

“You ain’t goin’ with him?”

“I wasn’t invited.”

“Don’t you think it’s time to come clean?”

“Not yet.” Luke sighed, he did want to tell Bo how he felt, but he didn’t want Bo thinking it was just because of the stabbing.

“Luke, keeping it a secret ain’t likely to be a good thing.”

“I just can’t, Jesse, not until he’s fully healed.”

“He seems healed enough to me,” Jesse commented.

“Not yet.” Luke set his beer down and hopped off the porch. “I think I’m goin’ for a walk, see you later.”

“Be careful,” Jesse admonished, settling into a chair with a sigh, ruminating on his oldest boy and his stubbornness.

 

Bo walked into the Boar’s Nest and looked around, he hadn’t been there since the stabbing, but nothing much looked like it’d changed. He spotted his friend over in the corner, waved to him and headed in his direction.  “Justin.” Bo greeted the young man with a huge smile.

“Bo, how are you?” Justin asked, standing and drawing Bo into a hug – once he’d looked around and confirmed that no one was watching them.

“I’m doin’ good, Justin,” Bo answered, returning the hug, then patting the young brunet on the back before taking a seat next to him.

“Man, am I glad to see you,” Justin said with a visible shudder.

“Me too,” the blond responded, smiling warmly at the younger man.

“Hey guys, what can I get ya?”

“Hey Daisy,” Bo said, looking up as his cousin came to their table. “I’d love a beer. How ‘bout you, Justin?”

“Sounds good.”

“Should I bring one for Luke?” Daisy asked, glancing around the bar.

Bo laughed, then caught the look on Daisy’s face and realized she was serious. “Nah, Luke’s at home.”

“Oh,” Daisy said, “I figured he’d be here with ya.”

“Nah, I didn’t figure he’d want to hang out with us – after everything.”

“Oh,” Daisy said with a bit smaller of a smile, “Okay.  Well, I’ll be right back with your beer.”

“That was weird…” Bo said to Justin as Daisy walked away.

“Eh, she’s probably just thinking he’s protective – you’ve said that yourself.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Bo said, once again smiling at his friend. “So, what have you been up to?”

“Oh, well I…” he said, starting to tell Bo about all the things he’d been doing the past weeks.

 

Daisy dropped off a few more rounds of beer to the table in the corner where her cousin and Justin sat, though she couldn’t help but think it odd to see Bo there without Luke.  When Cooter walked in about halfway through the night, he started in the direction he could hear Bo’s laugh coming from, and was abruptly stopped by the touch of a hand. 

“Luke’s not here,” Daisy said, turning Cooter to face her.

“Then who’s Bo with?”

“Justin.”

Cooter raised his eyebrows at that announcement “Oh, I see, maybe I’ll just go over to the bar and have a beer then.”

“Yeah, comin’ right up,” Daisy said, patting his arm as she walked away.

Cooter settled on the bar stool and only glanced toward the corner a few times, shaking his head at the strangeness of Bo’s being at the bar without Luke.

 

Bo was so wrapped up in talking to Justin that he didn’t realize that Cooter had walked in, or that Daisy had stopped his approach.  

Justin smiled as Bo finished the last of his latest mug of beer. 

“What?”

“Nothin’”

“Come on, Justin, that look don’t mean ‘nothin’.” Bo said, grinning at his friend.

“You’ve got foam.” He mimed wiping his upper lip. “It’s cute.”

“It is, huh?” Bo asked, obligingly wiping his lip. “Are you flirting with me?”

“Well, it couldn’t hurt.”

Bo laughed and patted his friend on the leg under the table. “Come on, let’s get out of here.  Go somewhere you can flirt all you want.”

Justin’s heart beat a little faster at the promise in Bo’s voice; he rose and followed Bo out the door.

“Follow me in your car – okay?”

“Right behind you,” Justin said, getting into his blue Chevelle and starting the engine. 

 

Bo led Justin toward a secluded spot at the pond, one they’d been to many times before. Parking the General, he slid out of the window and turned toward the young man’s car as it came to a stop.  Walking up he opened the door for Justin, and wasn’t the least surprised to find himself with an armful of wiry young man.  “Hey, easy, easy…” Bo soothed.

Justin nodded against Bo’s chest, his arms wrapped around the taller man. “I was so scared.”

“I know you were, but I’m okay.” Bo tilted Justin’s liquid brown eyes up to meet them, then leaned in and brushed his lips against the softer ones of the younger man. 

Justin parted his lips and welcomed the touch of his friend, and sometime lover, with a sigh and a murmur.

“I promise, I’m okay,” Bo said as the kiss broke. He traced Justin’s lips with his thumb, then drew his hand down to capture Justin’s and bring it to his own lips for a brief kiss. “Go ahead, reassure yourself that I’m here.”

Justin took that for the permission it was and traced every line of Bo’s face, then trailed his hands down Bo’s chest, touching him gently, carefully.  When he was reassured that Bo was solid and wasn’t going to fade away, he looked up at his lover and licked his lips. “Thank you,” he murmured with a sigh.

“Mmm…welcome,” Bo answered, smiling at the younger man. Sometimes, like now, it struck him as just how much younger Justin was; and how much he cared for the younger man.  Bo knew it wasn’t love, not the real love when you want to share the rest of your life with someone – and he didn’t think that Justin felt that way about him.  It was, however, a very close friendship, with a common bond that wasn’t shared with anyone else.

“Can we sit down by the water?”

“Of course,” Bo answered, squeezing Justin’s hand. He then stepped back and went to the trunk to get a blanket. Coming back he took Justin by the hand and led him to the water’s edge.  Bo spread the blanket out, then sat down and drew Justin into his arms.

 

The young men kissed and made out under the moonlight for a long time that night, until it was getting quite cold out and Justin was shivering.

“We should be heading back,” Bo said, finally, softening the words with a gentle nuzzle to Justin’s temple as they lay together on the blanket.

“Yeah, probably should,” Justin answered, turning his head to press another kiss to Bo’s lips.

Bo responded, but didn’t let it get too deep, “Come on, there’ll be more time another night,” he chuckled at Justin’s predictable sigh.

Justin got up with a groan, and then reached down to tug Bo up. 

Bo got up easily enough, but didn’t let himself be distracted with another kiss from his friend.  Instead, he straightened his clothes, watching Justin do the same. Once both men were presentable, the blond bent down, gathered the blanket, and nudged Justin to head back toward the cars. Once the blanket was stowed, Bo again slid his arms around Justin and gave him a lingering kiss.  “Thank you,” he murmured.

“Mmm…my pleasure,” Justin responded, sighing as he reluctantly broke the kiss and headed for his car.

Bo smiled as he watched the young man drive away. He did care for Justin, even if it wasn’t the love he sometimes wished he could find.  Shaking his head as he slid into the car, Bo headed for home.

 

Luke was sitting on the porch looking out at the moonlit yard, contemplating his circumstances, and mulling over his dilemma.  He still couldn’t decide what to do about his feelings for Bo. If anything, they had been stronger lately, and yet he was still so afraid of letting Bo think that the only reason he felt as he did was the attack.  

The indecision he was feeling was driving the brunet Duke slowly insane. Normally he made decisions and plans so quickly and decisively that it was doubly frustrating to be feeling at loose ends. 

Luke hadn’t come any closer to a decision when he heard the familiar sound of the General’s engine getting closer.  He sighed and ran his hands through his hair and then gave himself a mental shake so that he could greet his cousin with something approaching normalcy – even if the way he truly wanted to greet the blond was anything but normal.  

 

Bo drew the orange car to a stop in the farm yard and smiled as he looked toward the porch, glad to be able to call the old house home once again. The smile faltered a bit when he saw his brunet cousin waiting for him, he hated to be babied, and Luke had been doing a lot of that lately.

With a sigh, Bo drew himself from the stockcar and headed in his cousin’s direction. He gave Luke a smile as he neared. “You didn’t have to wait up.”

“I wasn’t, just couldn’t sleep is all,” Luke answered as Bo got close.  He grimaced as he got a whiff of the cloying scent wafting from his approaching cousin.

“Ah, well, I’ll leave you to it, I’m beat.”

“I’ll just bet you are,” Luke murmured.

Bo had already passed his cousin, but turned at the muttered comment. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, Bo, just go take a shower before you go to bed.”  Luke’s answer was curt, even for him.

“I’m just gonna hit the hay, I’ll just get dirty with chores in the morning.”

“Take a shower, if you’re gonna sleep in our room, you reek.”

Bo stared in shock at his cousin, the one person who had seemed to accept him without reservation. “Luke.”  The blonde’s voice was harsh with his disbelief.

The brunet caught that he might just have gone too far this time and sighed. “Please, just take a shower.” He didn’t beg, it wasn’t in him, but he knew that if Bo went to bed smelling of another man, he himself wouldn’t get any sleep. “You smell like stale beer and smoke,” _and sex_ was the unspoken addition to that sentence – and the part that was slowly killing Luke.

Bo watched his cousin for a long moment, his head tilted like he had maybe heard the unspoken words, but then he nodded. “Okay.” 

“Thanks.”

“Sure, cousin,” Bo answered as he turned to head into the house.

Luke watched the younger man walk away, and managed to stifle his reaction until Bo was out of sight. Once he heard the water running in the bathroom, Luke dropped his head in his hands and groaned, he knew that he couldn’t keep going on like this, but he still had no clue how to get himself out of the hole he was digging himself into by waiting so long to talk to his cousin.

 

The next few weeks flew for Bo, he spent most of his time with Luke, working around the farm, going to the Boar’s Nest, going swimming or just taking the General out for a drive.  Things between them seemed great. The blond was shocked at how normal everything seemed to be.  

Jesse settled down, accepting Bo back with open arms once his own fears were out in the open.  The old ridge runner couldn’t hold onto the anger that he’d had, not once he accepted his youngest back. He treated Bo exactly as he always had.

Daisy of course had settled right away, as soon as she let go of her own worries and fears, and she found herself admiring her cousin, more often than not.

The only thing that seemed off to Bo, was the once or twice a week he met up with Justin.  Luke would refuse to go to the Boar’s Nest with him on nights he knew that the younger man was going to be there, and he would ask Bo to shower when he got home – though his ‘asking’ always had the overtone of an order.   Bo couldn’t quite figure it out, since on the nights that they went together both of them usually came back and flopped into bed without a second thought.  

 

The day that Bo got the final clean bill of health from the doctor he cajoled Luke into going out with him to celebrate.  Luke agreed, he was as happy as anyone that Bo had been completely cleared.  Luke looked around the parking lot as they pulled up to the Boar’s Nest after supper that night and whistled at the number of cars there for a Thursday night. “Boss’ll be happy tonight,” he said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, he sure will,” Bo said, grinning over at his cousin. “This place is packed.”

“Sure is – I think everyone in town’s here.”

“Not everyone, but there are a few cars I recognize. Looks like Cooter’s here, and Enos,” Bo said as he pulled into a spot. “Justin’s here too.” 

Luke winced at the smile in his cousin’s voice when he mentioned the younger brunet.  “You know what, cousin, maybe you should go on without me, I ain’t sure I’m up to this crowd tonight.”

“Aw, come on Luke, it’ll be fun.  We’ll grab Cooter and Justin and get a few beers, relax a little.”

And that was Luke’s problem – he couldn’t stop thinking about how Bo lit up when he mentioned Justin’s name, even if he insisted that they were just friends.  Luke knew that they were friends ‘with benefits’ and it bothered him more each day. He looked over at his cousin and sighed, he couldn’t very well get out of this now. Finally with a nod he slid from the car. “Let’s go then.”

Bo got out of the car and followed his cousin, wondering what had gotten into the brunet; he definitely wasn’t acting like Luke.  As the young men walked into the bar, Bo looked to the corner and smiled when he saw that Justin and Cooter had already settled at a table. It warmed his heart that Cooter had not only accepted him as he was, but that he was willing to accept Justin too. In fact, Cooter had joined them for a beer a few times when they were at the bar on their ‘not-dates’.  

 

Cooter saw their friends walk in, and he grinned and waved his beer at them, signaling that they should join the table. 

Bo’s walk sped up as they wended their way through the crowded bar. He smiled at the mechanic as he slid into a chair next to Justin at the square table.  “Hey guys, you got started already.”

“Yeah, we’re just on our first though,” Justin said with a smile as Bo settled into his seat.

“Yep, figured it couldn’t hurt,” Cooter said as he picked up the pitcher and poured beer into the two glasses he’d had Daisy leave for the Dukes, figuring that they’d show up. “Hey there , Lukas Dukas,” Cooter said with a smile as Luke joined them.

“Hey Cooter. Hi Justin,” Luke answered, settling into the chair between Bo and Cooter, across from Justin. 

“Hi Luke, how have you been?” Justin asked, hoping that no one could sense his unease. He didn’t know what was going on, but he was well aware that the temperature seemed to drop whenever Luke neared. 

“Doin’ good,” Luke answered, nodding to Cooter in thanks for the glass he was handed. 

“Good,” the younger man answered, turning toward the only blond again. “How did your appointment go, Bo?”

“Yeah, Bo, can I put you to work again?” Cooter asked, grinning at the blond.

“Clean as a whistle. I can pretty much do whatever I did before.”

“Great! I’ll see you first thing Monday to start work on pounding the dents out of some fenders.” Cooter said with a chuckle. “Since it’s police cars, I figure y’all’re the ones that put them there.”

Bo laughed, but Luke kind of glared at their friend, “I don’t think that’s what the doc meant.”

“Come on, Luke, lighten up,” Bo said, reaching to put a hand on Luke’s shoulder – something he’d done almost without thought since the day he first got tall enough to reach.  He couldn’t quite hide the surprise when Luke flinched from his touch. “You okay?” The blond asked quietly.

“Yeah, just…probably best not to do that around here anymore.”

“What? Why?” Bo honestly couldn’t understand.

Justin understood only too well, “Too many people might misinterpret it, Bo. Think it’s something it’s not.” Though the younger man was getting the idea that Luke might not object if it was what people were likely thinking.

“Dang it all!” Bo exclaimed, frustrated.

“Bo.” Luke’s voice was sharp, as were his blue eyes.

Bo glared a moment at Luke before he dropped his head and gave in with a sigh. “Sorry, it just ain’t fair.”

“Get used to it, cousin, life ain’t fair.” Luke took a sip of his beer, reflecting on just how unfair life was at the moment.

Bo looked in disbelief at his cousin and then sat back against the chair. After a few moments of silence, Cooter picked up the conversation again by talking about a race that he and the Dukes were all going to be entering in a few weeks.

 

As the night wore on Bo couldn’t help but notice how unlike himself his cousin was acting.  Luke sullenly drank his beer, but talked only when spoken to.  Bo had no idea why Luke was being the way he was, but he was not happy with the way the older man was acting. 

Justin watched the cousins, trying to make sense of what was going on, Luke had never been that talkative, to the best of his knowledge, but the few times Bo did manage to get him involved in the conversation, Luke said what needed to be said and then shut up.

Cooter watched the dark-haired Duke, sighing as Luke once again answered a question, only to shut up once he finished what he had to say. He hated seeing Luke look so – hurt, was the best way to describe it.  He knew that Luke was struggling with his secret, and more than once he’d suggested to the brunet that he tell Bo what was going on, but every time Luke shut him down, sometimes with a glare, sometimes with an outright ‘no’ and sometimes by just walking away.

Luke drank his beer and watched miserably as his blond talked so easily with their lifelong friend, and the young man that he knew only as a friend of Bo’s.  And the nature of that friendship stuck in the older Duke’s craw.  He hated thinking about Justin having a part of Bo that he wouldn’t allow himself.  He cringed when he noticed Bo catching a glance at the young brunet, seeing the fondness and warmth in those blue eyes – something that he himself longed for.  Things weren’t helped, in his mind, when the second pitcher of beer had been drained and Bo asked Justin for a ride home.  He suspected that he wasn’t the only one at the table who didn’t think the request was as innocent as it sounded. 

 

Daisy saw Justin and Bo head out and headed in the direction of the table with another pitcher of beer.  “Hey, y’all, you looked like you could use a refill.”

“Thanks, Daisy,” Cooter said, smiling at the young woman, though the smile was a bit forced.

“Yeah, thanks, cousin,” Luke answered, taking the pitcher from her and pouring another mug before shoving the pitcher in Cooter’s direction.

“Those two coming back?”

“Doubt it,” Luke answered, not bothering to hide the bitterness in his voice. “Bo asked Justin for a ‘ride’.”

“Oh,” Daisy said, forcing a smile. She was grateful when she saw that another table was signaling her. “Hey, I gotta go, I’ll see y’all later.”

“See ya soon, Daisy,” Cooter answered, smiling at the young woman.

Luke didn’t answer, only raised his beer in a salute.

“You gonna keep doing this to yourself?” Cooter asked his friend as soon as Daisy was out of earshot.

“Doin’ what, Cooter?” Luke asked, his voice unnaturally slurred.

“Makin’ yourself miserable.”

“I ain’t doin’ a thing, just havin’ a beer,” Luke answered, glaring at his friend, though the glare didn’t have as much power as usual, given that his eyes were glazed with the amount of alcohol consumed.

“You know as well as I do that that ain’t the truth.”

“What do you want me to do, Cooter?” Luke asked, slamming his mug down so hard that beer sloshed from it. “Huh? You want me to tell him that I hate seein’ him leavin’ with someone else?” Luke’s voice was a hissed whisper.  “Tell him that I hate knowin’ that they’re going to the pond together for sex?  Tell him that I’m jealous as all hell of him and Justin?” 

Cooter shook his head and glanced around, glad that no one seemed to be paying attention – even though Luke’s voice had been rising through his little speech. “Keep your voice down.”

“Why should I bother? They’re obvious enough,” Luke growled.

“No, Luke, they ain’t.”

“To me they are.”

Cooter looked at the beer, then at his friend, and he felt the pain in Luke’s words. “Okay, you’ve had enough, come on, let’s get out of here.” Cooter stood and nudged Luke’s shoulder to get him to move.

“I ain’t done yet.”

“Yeah, you are. Let’s go.” Cooter made a grab for the younger man, getting his hand around Luke’s bicep.

Luke struggled for a few minutes, but relented when it became apparent to even his beer addled brain that Cooter wasn’t giving in.

Cooter waved to Daisy, and nodded at Luke when he caught her eye, hoping she would catch his meaning – that he was taking Luke home.

Daisy shook her head as she watched her cousin leave with their friend, she could only hope that Cooter would be able to talk some sense into Luke, before Luke drove them all insane.

 

Bo smiled over at Justin as they pulled to a stop down by the pond.  “I’m really glad you could be there tonight.”

“Me too, Bo, I’m so glad you’re going to be okay.”

“I’m fine, the doc said so.” Bo reached a hand out to Justin and tugged him close on the bench seat of the Chevelle.  

“I’m glad,” Justin said, leaning up to brush Bo’s lips with a soft kiss.

Bo wound his arm around Justin and returned the sweet press of lips, parting his and inviting Justin to deepen the caress.  He sighed as Justin took him up on the invitation, deepening the kiss with a soft touch of his tongue to the corner of Bo’s mouth, then more, tasting his lover, savoring the chance to be close to him once again. Bo brought one hand to caress Justin’s cheek, returning the caress, re-learning the feel of the younger man, the subtle taste of him mixed with the alcohol. 

Justin delved into the sweet offering, fingers restlessly caressing his lover, hands touching, opening Bo’s shirt to find skin underneath. He cherished every heartbeat, every sigh, every sweet sound Bo made, not knowing how much longer he would have this man in his arms. He couldn’t quite drop the sense that he’d had earlier in the night that Luke was jealous of him, but he determined to enjoy whatever time with Bo that he was allowed.

 

Cooter glanced over at his friend as he drove toward the Duke farm. Luke was slumped on the passenger seat of the truck, glowering at anything and everything.  Cooter felt his heartache and pain, but didn’t think there was much he could do about it.

“I coulda drove, Cooter,” Luke said, for about the tenth time since they had left the bar.

“Your voice says otherwise, buddyro,” Cooter answered, noting the slur in the other man’s voice – a slur that by all rights should not be there since Luke usually didn’t get drunk.

“What do you know about it?” 

Cooter took a deep breath, pulled to the shoulder of the road and put the truck into park. Turning in his seat he glared at the younger man. “I know you’re drinking yourself to oblivion. I know that you’re tearing yourself up inside with what you won’t say. I know that you’re going to drive your family – and me – nuts because you are too damn stubborn for your own good. That’s what I know!”

“You done?” Luke asked pointedly.

Cooter glared at him for a long minute, then turned back in his seat. “Yeah, I’m done,” he dropped the tow truck back into gear and continued to the farm, dropping his charge off in front of the house, trusting that the brunet could get up the few steps and into the house on his own.

 

The next morning Bo was sleeping peacefully in bed when he felt a shove against his shoulder, he cracked one eye open and looked up to see his cousin.

“Get up,” Luke growled, turning without waiting for a response.

Bo mumbled and tucked himself back down in the bed, it had been late when he’d gotten in, and he was feeling lazy and sated from his time out at the pond with Justin.

“I said get up.” Luke didn’t try to hide the growl in his voice as he tugged at Bo’s legs, dragging the younger man half off the bed.

“Yeah, yeah…” Bo snuggled back down again, still drowsy.

“Get UP.” Luke’s voice had risen with each successive order and this one was just short of a shout.

Bo groaned and opened his eyes, shoving himself to the side of the bed and swinging his legs over. “I’m up, ya happy?”

“Get your butt outside, you’re doing the stall,” was Luke’s only answer as he nearly slammed the door. The only thing that stayed his hand was that Jesse would have tanned his hide, and that was one thing that he didn’t need.

“What the heck bee got in his bonnet?” Bo asked himself as he stood and started to dress, slamming drawers, frustrated and quickly losing the good mood that the previous night’s activity had engendered.

 

The next few weeks weren’t much better, as far as Bo was concerned. Luke growled at him every chance he got and twice as bad when he dared to go out with Justin.  Things came to a head one night when Bo said he was going to be seeing Justin and maybe going out to a different bar in Capitol City.

“You ain’t goin’ to one of them bars,” Luke growled from across their bedroom.

“I’ll go wherever I please.”

“Over my dead body.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Bo growled, slamming the drawer of his dresser. He stalked past Luke, not missing the glare that those eyes were piercing him with.

Luke watched Bo go, feeling helpless, done in, angry.  As he heard the sound of the General driving away from the farm he rounded on his bed and slammed his fist down into his pillow. It was all he could do not to pick up the innocent pillow and rip it to shreds.  “Damn it all!”

Jesse heard the outburst from the other side of the door, and groaned as he made his way down the hall into the living room. He knew that the boys couldn’t keep going on like this, it was tearing them apart, and would tear the family apart too, the way it was going.

 

Bo drove to the Boar’s Nest, fuming all the way about his cousin’s attitude.  He couldn’t figure out why Luke was acting like he was.  Half the time the brunet was nice, kind, caring and everything else that Bo had always come to expect, the other half of the time, he was nothing but a jerk.   Bo was getting tired of dealing with the fifty percent of the time that Luke was a jerk.  

Bo pulled the car to a stop in front of the Boar’s Nest and saw Justin heading his way as he slid out of the window. The younger man stopped just short of touching the blond, knowing where they were and that it wasn’t altogether safe. 

“Hey, Bo, you ready?” Justin asked, glancing over his friend from head to toe, his eyes lighting at just how good Bo looked.

“I ain’t in the mood, Justin, I’m sorry,” Bo said, his voice tinged with regret as he spoke the words, having not even been aware that he was going to until they were being voiced.

“Oh, well, sure, maybe another night.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Bo said, giving Justin a nod and reaching out to touch the younger man on the shoulder in what he hoped passed for a caring gesture.

Justin smiled at Bo, though he could feel the other man mentally pulling away, emotionally if not yet physically.  “Well, I better get going.  I told Al and Dennis we’d meet them around nine.”

“Have a good time.”

“Yeah…thanks.” Justin backed away and slipped into his Chevelle.

Bo watched Justin leave the parking lot and headed toward the front entrance of the bar.  He almost turned back around, not wanting to see anyone he knew – and he could hardly help that at the ‘Nest, since his own cousin worked there.  He would have left too, if Cooter hadn’t picked that very minute to pull in next to him. 

Cooter took one look at the blond Duke and knew that there was trouble. He slid out of the tow truck and rounded the hood, smiling at his young friend. “Hey Bo.”

“Hi, Cooter.”

Cooter couldn’t help but notice how flat Bo’s voice sounded, not at all like the vibrant young man he knew.  He looked Bo up and down and made a decision in the space of a heartbeat. “You know, this place is pretty crowded. What say I go get us some beer to go and we head back to my place?”

Bo looked around and noted that there were only a few cars in the lot, hardly crowded. He looked toward the entrance again, and then decided to allow Cooter his bluff. “Sure, sounds good.”

“Good,” Cooter said, smiling at the blond. “Why don’t you hook the General up to the truck, we can ride together.”

Bo snorted. “Cooter, there ain’t nothin’ wrong with the General.”

“No, there ain’t, but you ain’t lookin’ so good, no offense.”

Bo rolled his eyes, but agreed. “Okay, fine, have it your way. I’ll warn you, I probably ain’t gonna be the best company. “

“Yeah, yeah, I figured.” Cooter opened the door and headed into the bar, trusting that Bo would have the car hooked to the truck by the time he got back.

Bo contemplated simply getting into the General and driving, but he didn’t want to go home yet, and being out in the middle of nowhere by himself had no appeal. So in the end he went to the General, started it up and drew it up behind the tow truck to get it hooked up for a ride.

 

Cooter stepped into the noise of the road house, almost grateful that he wasn’t going to have to spend much time there – the jukebox had been turned up way too loud, and a few patrons crowded around the old pinball machine, apparently having a tournament.  Cooter caught Daisy’s eye and motioned her back to the bar.

“Hey Sugar, what’s up?” Daisy asked, joining Cooter at the bar.

“Hey Daisy, any chance I can buy a case of beer to go?”

Daisy raised one eyebrow. “A whole case?”

“Yeah.”

“You havin’ a party?”

“Nah, nothing like that.  Actually, Bo’s waiting outside for me.  I think he needs some cheering up, and maybe a friendly ear.”

Daisy nodded, smiling at Cooter. “Yeah, things ain’t been easy around home lately.  He probably could use a friend.  Just be careful, huh?”

“I will, don’t worry.” Cooter took the case of beer that Daisy passed him over the bar. “I’m probably going to keep Bo with me tonight. I’ll make sure he gets home in the morning.”

“Okay.” Daisy rounded the bar and brushed a kiss against Cooter’s rough cheek.

Cooter blushed to the tips of his ears. “What was that for?”

“For caring,” Daisy answered simply. With another smile she turned and went back to take orders from a table that was trying to catch her attention.

Cooter watched the young woman walk away, unable to stop the smile that spread across his face.  He didn’t have any serious designs on the young woman, but she did have a way of making a man feel special.

 

Bo watched the door of the bar from where he sat in the passenger seat of the tow truck, when Cooter exited the bar he was surprised to see a whole case of beer in the other man’s hand. “Planning a party?” he asked as Cooter put the beer in the back and slid into the seat.

“Funny you should ask, Daisy asked the very same thing.”

“You didn’t tell her anything?”

“Since I don’t know anything, I couldn’t rightly tell her anything, now could I?”

Bo held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry, just…,” his voice trailed off, “been hard, ya know?”

“I can imagine,” Cooter said, starting the truck and backing carefully up. 

 

Too soon for Bo’s tastes Cooter was pulling to a stop in front of his farmhouse.  Bo slid out of the truck and headed to the back to unhook the General.

“We can get him later,” Cooter called, heading for the house with the case of beer.  In all honesty, he didn’t want Bo able to easily run. 

“Okay.” Bo shrugged and turned toward the house.

Cooter settled on the porch steps, the beer at his feet.  As his young friend approached, he opened the first bottle and handed it to the blond, opening one for himself and raising it in a mock toast.

Bo snorted a bit, but met Cooter’s toast before taking a long sip, wiping his upper lip with the back of his hand.

 

“It’s just not fair,” Bo moaned - his fourth beer in hand.  “Half the time he’s sweet as anything to me, the other half the time I can’t do a dang thing right.” 

“Well, that’s Luke for ya,” Cooter said, raising his beer again – his fifth.

“I know, I know but damn it! He acts like he don’t care what I do.  Then he acts like he can’t stand the idea of me going out.  He’s mad and crabby whenever I’m not with him.  ‘S like I can’t do a dang thing to please him.”

Cooter shrugged and bit his tongue, sheer force of will the only thing keeping him from telling Bo exactly what was troubling his older cousin.

“I just wish I knew why he does this. Why can’t he just let me be? And why is he so danged rude to Justin?”

Cooter just shrugged in answer, not wanting to outright lie to his young friend.

“Do you know that he makes me shower every time I come home from a night out with him?” Bo mused, looking into his bottle of beer. “Say’s I smell like the ‘Nest.”

“Well…” Cooter couldn’t help but agree with Luke’s thinking on that. “Maybe it just gets to him.”

“Don’t seem to bother him when he comes home smelling like beer and smoke.”

“Oh.” Cooter had no answer for that, the real reason for Luke’s behavior spinning in his head as he tried to keep his promised silence.

Bo drank the rest of his beer in silence, then got another and slugged half of that down in one gulp.

Cooter wasn’t too far behind the blond in getting smashed. He hated hearing the sadness in Bo’s voice and knew that it wasn’t right that Luke was keeping his cousin in the dark.

After a long silence, the boys doing nothing but simply drinking, Bo spoke again, his voice rather plaintive. “Maybe I should have just left. “

“Bo, that wouldn’t have solved anything. You would just be miserable.”

Bo looked over at Cooter, he knew that the other man must be drunk, he was mostly there himself and Cooter usually couldn’t hold his liquor the way the Dukes could. Yet the older man was surprisingly lucid, despite the abundance of drink. “I’m not much better off now.”

Cooter snorted and added, “You would have been alone and miserable.”

“I might as well be.  Luke hates me.”

“He don’t hate you, Bo.”

“Yeah?  Sure looks that way.”

“Maybe it does.  But it ain’t the truth.”

“I want to believe you, Cooter, but…I can’t.” Bo put down the empty beer and opened another one, sipping sadly.

Cooter watched his friend, biting his tongue hard to keep silent.

 

Luke walked out of the bedroom, headed for the kitchen. He turned, startled, when he heard the sound of a page turning in the living room chair. “Uncle Jesse, what are you doing up?”

“Reading.” 

“Oh”

“Yeah, it’s a book I ain’t read in years.  _Treasure Island_ it used to be one of my favorites.”

“I remember.  You’d sit us down and read to us.”

Jesse nodded. “And you always ate it up.”

“Yeah, we did,” Luke couldn’t keep the smile from his voice or his eyes, thinking about those nights that were so much simpler. He and Bo would sit on the floor in front of Jesse, Daisy would be on the couch next to their uncle and they would huddle together as they read.  Luke stared off into the distance, thinking about then, about how much simpler it was to love his cousin back then, before he had the knowledge that he not only loved the blond, but that he desired him too.

Jesse put the book aside. “Luke don’t you think it’s time?”

“Time for what, Jesse?”

The look that Jesse gave Luke clearly showed that he thought his nephew was acting like an idiot. “Time to come clean.”

“I can’t.” Luke shook his head. “It’ll change everything.”

“Yeah, it will, but change don’t have to be a bad thing. “ Jesse settled back in his chair, regarding the young man that he considered a son. “Luke, you’ve been downright cruel to him lately. And for what? Because you don’t want to admit something? Because you’re afraid that he’ll think it’s only a reaction to his getting hurt?”

Luke watched his uncle silently for a minute. Finally he shook his head. “No, I’m afraid he’ll tell me to get lost. That he won’t understand…” Luke’s voice became nothing more than a whisper , opening up to Jesse in a way he couldn’t to anyone else, except Bo,“…that I’ll lose my best friend – and the only person I’ve ever truly been in love with.”

Jesse stood and put a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “I understand how scary it is. It’s that way for anyone who is in love.  But with what you’re doing now, you’re going to push him away and lose any chance you have.  Tell him, Luke, it’s the only way to be fair to both of you.”

Luke sighed and looked at his uncle, “I’ll think about it.”

“Okay.” Jesse squeezed Luke’s shoulder, accepting the promise, because he knew that it was closer than Luke had ever been to being ready to tell Bo his secret.

 

“I wish I could just get rid of this,” Bo said, his voice slurred as he picked at the label on the last of his allotted beer bottles.

“Huh? Get rid of wha…?” Cooter asked, the beer finally having caught up with him. The mechanic was slumped against the porch newel post, eyes half closed as he tried to listen to his friend.

“This thing…this feeling.”

“You mean liking guys?”

“Yeah,” Bo answered with a nod.

“Why?”

“Because then Luke might not hate me.”

“Bo, he don’t hate you…” Cooter said for about the fiftieth time – or so it felt to his pickled brain.

“Sure acts like he can’t stand me.”

“He can…” Cooter was leaning heavily against the porch.

“Yeah…sure.” Bo said, head tipped down as he considered the situation.

“Bo, he can definitely stand you.” Cooter grinned, the grin extra wide with the alcohol consumption, “he loves the heck outta ya.”

Bo snorted. “Yeah, right, so he yells at me all the time…makes me miserable.”

“Bo, did ya hear me? He loves ya. He’s in love with ya.” Cooter’s eyes went wide as he realized what he said…”uh, you didn’t just hear me say that.”

Bo’s heart skipped a beat at Cooter’s words. “What did you just say?”

“Uh…nothin’ nothin’ at all.”

“You said somethin’ all right.” Bo’s heart was loud in his ears and he was stunned at what the other man had said. “Take it back.”

“Can’t take back what’s true.”

Bo snorted “Yeah, right, if that’s true then why is he being such a jerk.”

“You’ll have to ask him.”

“Yeah, right,” Bo snorted, unable to picture that conversation.  “I think you’ve just had too much to drink.” He looked down at the accumulated bottles and then at the empty case.  “I have too, for that matter – to even be listening to you.”

“Believe what you want,” Cooter said, hoping in his addled mind that Bo would forget this conversation ever occurred. “Come on, I told Daisy you were staying here tonight.  I think it’s time we got some sleep.” The older man rose from his seat, stumbling.

Bo stood and grabbed Cooter by the arm. “You’re drunk.” The blond snorted as he started to stumble too. “So’m I.”

Stumbling the whole way, the pair managed to make it as far as Cooter’s room. Laughing drunkenly they held each other up as they shed their clothes down to their shorts. They flopped into the bed – one on each side – and fell into a drunken sleep.

 

Luke walked into the kitchen the next morning, wiping the sleep from his eyes with the back of his hand.  He looked around the kitchen and mumbled a good morning to his uncle who was at the table with a cup of coffee.

“You look like something the cat dragged in; just how long of a walk did you take last night?”

“I got in around 2,” Luke admitted with a yawn.  “The walk wasn’t the problem, the problem was I found a few bottles of beer in the fridge and sat up until 4, waiting for Bo.”

“Well, what time did he get in?”

“He didn’t.”

“What!?” Jesse yelled, surprised.

Daisy heard her uncle’s yell as she closed her bedroom door and she rushed into the kitchen. “Uncle Jesse, are you okay?”

“Bo ain’t home.”

Daisy smiled at her uncle. “I know. I’m sorry.  I had hoped to be awake to tell you before you found out like this.”

“Tell me what?” Jesse asked, figuring the worst.

“Cooter came into the Boar’s Nest last night and got a case of beer, he said he was taking Bo home with him.  He also said he’d make sure Bo got home safe this morning.”

Luke just smirked at that. “Cooter, watching out for Bo, will wonders never cease.”

“Luke, you and Daisy best go get Bo – and the General.  Who knows how much that boy drank last night.”

“We will, right after chores,” Luke answered as he headed to the door.

“And breakfast,” Daisy added, going to the sink to wash her hands and start cooking.

Jesse shook his head at his kids, wondering about their attitude, but gave in after a minute. “Okay, you win,” Jesse said, lifting the cup to his mouth for another sip of his coffee.

 

Daisy pulled the Jeep to a stop in front of Cooter’s farm, laughing as she noticed that the General was still attached to the tow truck. “They must have slept in.”

“That ain’t like Cooter,” Luke said, looking around the farm yard as he slid out of the Jeep and nearly landed on a mad red hen.  “He’s usually up with the sun and taking care of the animals.”

“You want me to go check on him?”

Luke snorted, “Jesse’d tan my hide for sure.” He smiled at his cousin. “I’ll do chores, he ain’t got that many animals, then go make sure everything’s okay. If they downed a whole case of beer, Cooter’s probably passed out somewhere.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, you need to get going, ain’t you going with Bobbi-Sue today?”

“Yeah, I am. Okay, hon, I’ll see you later.”

“See you at home.” Luke waved at Daisy as she pulled out of the yard. Once the Jeep disappeared from sight, Luke headed to the barn to feed the chickens who were milling around and clucking at him. While he was there he also fed and milked the couple of goats Cooter had and fed the one rabbit he had won at a county fair auction.  Luke shook his head as he looked at the big white rabbit in the hutch that had  been built out of spare lumber, Cooter could be the craziest guy in town, but he had a heart as big as gold.

Once the chores were done, and the General unhooked from his perch, Luke took the goat milk into the house and strained it into the jars that Cooter kept for that purpose. He and Bo had done chores enough while they were staying with their friend that none of this was new to him, nor did it take long.  

After everything was done, Luke figured he’d given them enough time to wake up on their own and headed down the hall. He walked past Cooter’s room and opened the door to the room he and Bo had shared when they were there. “Bo, come on, cousin, time to wake up.” Luke called as he opened the door. When he didn’t hear anything in response, he opened the door wider and peered in, surprised to find that the room was empty and the bed still made.  “Huh?”

Luke closed the bedroom door and headed back toward Cooter’s room. He knocked on the door. “Cooter?” he waited a minute, then tried again, “Cooter, wake up,” he called out. When there was still no response he opened the door intending to go wake his friend. 

As he stepped into the room, Luke gaped in shock at the sight that greeted him. Cooter and Bo were curled together in the middle of the queen-sized bed, arms and legs entangled, the sheets barely covering their lower extremities.  Luke hissed through his teeth at the sight of his blond in the arms of one of his best friends. 

“How _dare_ you!?” Luke roared. He stalked over to the bed, grabbed Cooter by the arm and hauled him bodily out of the bed.

Cooter’s eyes shot open as he hit the floor on his rear.  He surged to his feet and put his hands up in the air as though in surrender, even though it took him a second to realize why Luke was upset. “Luke, it ain’t what it looks like!”

Bo’s eyes opened as he heard a loud thud, then his cousin’s name.  He stared in shock, feeling like he was dreaming as he watched Cooter and Luke.  His eyes flashed to his enraged cousin as Luke grabbed Cooter by the wrists and pushed him against the wall. “Luke!”  Bo yelled, scrambling to his feet and rounding the edge of the bed.

Luke didn’t even hear Bo as he shoved Cooter into the wall. “How could you! You know how I feel!” The brunet Duke was shaking with rage, and hurt more deeply than he ever thought possible.

“Nothing happened!” Cooter asserted, not even trying to get away from Luke.

Bo tried to grab for Luke, to pull him back, but the brunet wouldn’t budge, his frame was locked and he was rooted to his spot.

“You slept with my cousin!” Luke yelled again, “You know I love him and you slept with him anyway!” Luke shook the older man his fingers digging into Cooter’s arm.

“LUKAS!” Bo shouted again.  “Stop it!” The younger man finally managed to get to Luke’s hands. He pried Luke’s fingers from their grip on Cooter and turned the brunet around to face him, his own anger giving him an abundance of strength. “Nothing happened!”

Luke looked into Bo’s face and froze, his eyes as wide as a deer’s in a headlight.  His heart pounded with the realization that Bo heard what he said. 

Bo saw the look of terror in Luke’s eyes, and tightened his grip, sensing Luke panicking. Before he could say anything else, Luke wrenched his hands free and bolted from the room. In the next instant Bo heard the front door slam open and the pounding of footsteps on the porch. He grabbed his clothes and struggled to get into his jeans and shirt, tugging on his boots as he hobbled down the hall.  By the time he reached the door, though, all that was left of Luke was the trail of dust as the General roared out of the farmyard. 

Bo stared out the door, watching the horizon, hoping Luke would come back.  As he watched the dust settle he realized what had been going on, all along, and he hated himself for not seeing it sooner.

Cooter came out of the bedroom, still buttoning his shirt, and saw his friend standing in the middle of the door. He sensed the turmoil in the young blond and didn’t know what to say.

“He was jealous,” Bo said without turning around.  “The whole time.”

“Yeah, he was.” 

“And you knew?” Bo finally turned toward the mechanic.

Cooter just nodded.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“For the same reason I wouldn’t tell him anything you asked me not to.  You’re both my friends.”

“How could I have been so blind?”

“You’re in lust with Justin.” Cooter answered simply.

Bo turned to aim a mild glare at him. “We’re just friends.”

“You’re friends who share something that you haven’t thought of sharing with anyone else.”

“But – “

Cooter cut him off. “But nothing. When you look at him, when you talk about him, it’s plain as the nose on your face that you’re thinking of your next encounter. “   Cooter took a breath, steadying himself and giving a second to decide if he wanted to continue.  Finally he asked, “when was the last time you did something that didn’t end up with you two having sex?”

Bo flushed, gaping at the brashness of Cooter’s question. His voice was just a shade below angry when he answered.  “That ain’t none of your business.”

Cooter took the answer to mean that he had been on target. “I thought so.  Each time you went off with him, it hurt that cousin of yours to the bone. “

“Then why the heck didn’t he say anything!?”

“He has his reasons.”

“Dang it, Cooter.” Bo looked to the window, raising a hand to run through his hair, agitated.  “I need to go find him.”

“Give him some time.”

“You don’t understand!”

“No YOU don’t understand. “ Cooter’s voice was raised, a tone he normally didn’t adopt with the youngest Duke.  “Give him time.”

Bo glared at Cooter, he hated thinking the other man might be right. He hated thinking that he maybe didn’t know his cousin that well. After a moment he settled down, still scowling out the window, but not moving yet.

“You need to think about what this means to you. What you want to do and where you’re willing to let it go. You need to decide if Justin is going to be part of your life, or if you’re willing to give up the easy sex for a real relationship – because there’s no doubt in my mind that you are it for your cousin, and he won’t accept the idea of being ‘friends with benefits’, like you are with Justin .” With that Cooter turned on his heel and left the room, leaving Bo alone to sort out his thoughts and feelings.

 

Luke tore down the road, feeling terror like he’d rarely known before, and hating himself for that feeling. His hands were white-knuckled on the steering wheel, his lips set in a straight line as he poured every bit of his energy into keeping what was in heart from showing on his face. He buried the terror in tight turns and low jumps, driving like his life depended on it – and even if his life didn’t, his sanity just might. 

Everything was such a mixed-up mess. He wanted to believe Bo and Cooter – that nothing had happened and yet every instinct in him was telling him otherwise.  He knew how persuasive Bo could be. He knew how it was when you were drunk with someone.  He knew that Bo enjoyed sex with men and it wouldn’t surprise him if he found out Cooter did too. 

He hated that he hadn’t said anything sooner, hated that everything had come to this – and yet he still didn’t see any way that this could end with what he really wanted. He loved the heck out of Bo, but the younger man had never shown himself willing to settle into a relationship – not until he hooked up with Justin.  

Just the thought of Bo and Justin tore Luke to pieces.  His mind flashed over the last time they were all together at the Boar’s Nest, his hand hit the steering wheel hard as he replayed the night in question, how attentive Bo was to the younger man, how he couldn’t keep his eyes off of the other brunet.  So help him, he wanted that from Bo, he wanted the blonds attention, affection.   He wanted that more than he wanted anything in the world – and he knew of no way to accomplish it.  

 

Bo let himself out of Cooter’s house and started walking toward home, though the direction was incidental.  His mind was reeling with the revelation of the night before and the confirmation of that revelation this morning.  He was furious that Luke didn’t believe him, didn’t trust him enough to believe him.  Yet the brunet supposedly loved him.  Just the thought made Bo squirm a bit. The only ‘love’ he’d known had been from women who wanted him – they most the time would say the word hoping that it would lessen the stigma of intimacy.  The few who maybe came just a bit closer to any real emotion, wanted to control him, to keep him for their very own; and he couldn’t fathom that, not with any that had tried it so far.  

But the thought of not having Luke in his life at all tore at him, the thought grabbed hold deep inside and he couldn’t let go of it.  He was sure that Luke would have nothing to do with him, since he hadn’t run off chasing the brunet.  He didn’t want to lose the other man, but he was afraid to open himself to what Luke felt. 

He had no idea what he could or even should say to Luke when he saw him again; or what to say to Justin, for that matter.  His mind switched to thoughts of the younger brunet.  Justin was fun – no doubt about it. The sex was incredible, imaginative, playful and frequent.  The younger man knew just what he liked and was more than willing to make his desires known. He also showed Bo just what pleasures could be had between men, and every nerve in Bo’s body tingled with just the thought of how easily Justin could excite him.  

He tried to think of the act of being intimate with Luke, and the thought terrified him. And it wasn’t because the idea itself was repulsive – anything but! Cooter’s words came back to him, his insistence that between the cousins it would be real.  That thought scared Bo half to death.  He didn’t know if he was ready for a real relationship; and at the same time, he didn’t want Luke out of his life.  

The young man dropped onto a rock at the side of the road and put his head in his hands, hoping that maybe his mind would stop spinning and he could sort things out.

 

It was several hours later when Bo heard a car pull to a stop next to him, the sound of the engine told him it was a hot rod before he even looked up, and for the space of a heartbeat, as he turned his eyes toward the sound, he feared it was Luke.  He should have been happy to see that it was Justin’s blue Chevelle, but instead it only intensified his panic. 

Justin leaned out the window and gave his friend a worried smile, “Bo, you okay?”

“Uh…” Bo stammered, unsure how to answer.

“Bo?” Bo just shook his head. “Come on, Bo, let me give you a ride home.”

“I’ll walk.” 

“Bo, it’ll take hours, come on.” Justin got out and crouched down by the blond, his hand automatically resting on Bo’s shoulder. Bo flinched from the touch, recoiling, which surprised the brunet after everything that they’d shared. “Come on, Bo, it’s just a ride,” Justin cajoled, lifting his hand, standing and taking a step back.

Bo looked up at the other man, uncertain if he should accept the offer, but the thought of walking the rest of the way home – only to face his angry cousin – held little appeal.  After a long moment he nodded and stood. “I need to talk to you anyway.” The words surprised Bo almost as much as they did Justin, talking was not something that they did much of when they were alone.

“Okay,” Justin responded.  “I’ll head for the pond.” Justin smiled at the thought as he settled back into the driver’s seat and shut the door.

“No,” Bo said quickly as he slid into the passenger seat. “No.  Let’s go up to the Point,” he added, referring to the other spot that couples made use of, up on the ridge. It was just as private, and better yet, didn’t have the sexual associations that the pond did for him.  

“Okay,” Justin shrugged and smiled at his passenger as he dropped the car into gear and headed in the direction of Lookout Point.

 

When Justin pulled the car to a stop at the Point, he looked over at his friend and reached for the blond’s hand, surprised again when Bo didn’t respond and kept his hands in his lap, though he lifted his eyes to meet his friends.

“Bo, what’s the matter?” Justin asked quietly “I know we ain’t done much talking, but I hope you know by now you can trust me.”

“It ain’t you,” Bo said, biting his lip as he met Justin’s eyes.

“Then what is it?” Justin asked, moving closer on the bench seat.

Bo pulled away as Justin tried to get into his space. “Not now…please, just don’t.”

“Bo, what’s going on? I want to help. Let me take your mind off of it for a while, at least.”

“Don’t you see? Sex is the problem!” Bo hissed, as he threw open the door, got out of the car and walked over to the ledge, looking down at the canyon far below.

Justin stared after his older friend, surprised at the venom in the usually easy-going blonds voice. “I don’t see how something like that can be a problem.” Justin said as he walked toward Bo. “I mean it’s fun, and exciting, right?”

“Yeah, it has been,” Bo said with a small smile, rueful.  After a long minute he spoke again, quietly asking, “do you ever think about something more than just sex?”

“You mean like a relationship?”

“Yeah.”

Justin shrugged. “Maybe sometimes, not right now though, like, years down the road.  I mean, sex is fun, but I ain’t in love with you – you know that.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Don’t tell me you’re in love with me,” Justin’s eyes widened as he realized that Bo may be saying exactly that.

“No,” Bo shook his head, “no, Justin, don’t worry. I mean, sure, the sex has been fun and exciting, but that’s all it is, just…sex.” Even as he spoke the words, Bo’s head was swimming with the comments Cooter had made.  He wasn’t in love with Justin, but he was in lust with him, and he selfishly admitted that he was nervous about what he was thinking about saying, he didn’t want to give up sex with a man, but, right now he couldn’t see himself in Justin’s arms again. 

“Cool, then come on…let me take your mind off whatever’s troubling you. “ Justin slid his arms around Bo from behind, nuzzling the blond’s neck.

“I can’t.” Bo turned in Justin’s embrace and pushed the younger man back as gently as he could. “Not now.”

“Why not?” Justin was perplexed as he dropped his arms to his sides.

“Because, it ain’t right.  And I need time to think.”

“Think about what?”

“About what I want with my life.”

Justin stared at his friend for a long moment. “So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I can’t sleep with you right now.” Bo met the other man’s eyes. “You’re a good friend and I’ve enjoyed the times that we’ve been together, but what started out as a friendship built on a shared…” he shrugged, trying to find the word “…lifestyle,” it wasn’t quite the word he wanted, but it would do, “has become something less than friendship.  All it’s been about lately is the sex, and I don’t like what that says about me.”

Justin watched his friend for a long moment then sighed. “You sound like your mind’s made up. Sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

“I haven’t been able to think of much else the past few hours.” Bo smiled at his friend. “I care about you – as a friend, and I’ve enjoyed learning how to pleasure a man and take pleasure in return.  I just…need to not do that for now.”

“So are you going back to girls?” Justin asked, his voice maybe a little more harsh than strictly necessary.

“No, Justin, I ain’t straight – I just need to not get wrapped so much up in sex that I can’t see anything, or anyone else.”

Justin bowed his head and licked his lips. “You ain’t asking me to wait for you, are you?” He really didn’t want to have to remind Bo that he wasn’t in love with him.

“No, I ain’t. I figure you can find someone to have fun with easy enough.”

“So is this it?” Justin asked, bluntly.

Bo closed his eyes for a long moment and then he nodded, almost sadly.  “I hope we can still be friends, even if we ain’t ‘friends with benefits’.”

Justin looked over at his friend and nodded. “I can’t promise it’ll be easy, but I’ll try.”

“Thanks.” Bo’s smile was genuine, probably happier than he had been since that morning.

“Sure.” Justin answered. “Come on,” he said after a few minutes, “I’ll give you that ride home I promised you.  If you don’t mind a detour by my parents place, I need to drop something off for my mother, she was expecting it an hour ago.”

“No problem.” Bo slid back into the car and watched as Justin started the car and dropped it into gear.  

As they drove they tried to make peace with a major step back in their friendship.  By the time they made it to the center of town, where Justin lived, they were laughing about Justin’s last trip to a bar in Capital City, and some of the people he met there. 

Bo was laughing so hard he missed the orange car that slipped out of town as Justin pulled to a stop in front of his parent’s house.

 

There was so much emotion burning in the brunet Duke that he knew he couldn’t go home, not yet, he was still too angry with himself for letting it slip how he felt about Bo.  Not to mention angry with Bo for not seeing it sooner, and Cooter for pushing him to slip.  So he drove, around town, around the woods, just driving and thinking.  Noon came and went, and still he drove. Most of the afternoon slipped away and he got no closer to wanting to go home.  

Toward the latter part of the afternoon Luke slipped into town and ran into Rhuebottom’s to grab something to drink.  He still couldn’t stomach the thought of food, but he was starting to struggle to stay awake and knew he needed something.  As he came out of the store with a bottle of soda he thought he spied Justin’s car on the other side of the square. He thought about heading out the other direction to avoid it, but it was like looking at a train wreck, he couldn’t help himself, he drove right past, and what he saw made him clench the steering wheel even harder. His blond was in the passenger seat, laughing at something the other brunet had said. 

Seeing Bo laughing set Luke’s rage to burning anew and he dropped the hammer on the General, sending the orange car flying down the road, his hands tight on the wheel, no give in his body.  Normally he would be the first person to push anyone out of the driver’s seat when they were as mad as he was, but he didn’t care. His heart was rending and being torn to shreds. 

He was going way too fast on a road affectionately known as Snake Pass Trail, and reached down at the wrong moment to get the drink he’d left next to him on the seat.  Luke felt the car wheels hit the gravel on the side of the road and tried to correct with one hand, but he corrected too quickly and the car went flying out of control.

The General popped a tire and flipped over on itself as it rolled down an embankment, when it came to rest, its wheels were spinning in the air and its driver was unconscious against the steering wheel.

 

Cooter had been out dropping off a car for a customer when he saw the General Lee heading the opposite direction down the road.  He found a place to turn around and was following a few car lengths behind the General as the car and tow truck hit the series of S-curves.  He followed the General, intending to radio Luke and stop him when they had gone through the curves.  They weren’t two miles into the three miles of curves when he saw the General go careening off the road.  

The mechanic swore and hit the lights on the tow truck as he pulled to a stop. He scrambled out of the cab and slid down the embankment, catching himself on the rear bumper of the General Lee.  He carefully braced against the car and made his way to the driver’s side. What he saw when he got there nearly stopped his heart. Blood was trickling from a gash on Luke’s temple, Luke’s left hand was hanging at an awkward angle and his mouth hung slack. 

Cooter peered into the cabin of the car to see if Luke was alone, glad when he saw that he was.  He then laid a hand on Luke’s chest to make sure the brunet was breathing.   The older man sighed in relief when he felt the rise and fall of Luke’s chest, he was breathing, it was shallow, but it was there. “Luke?” Cooter said softly as he touched the other man’s shoulder. When there was no response he tried again “Lukas?” Still nothing. “Dang it! I’m going to get help, don’t…d…just don’t.” Cooter couldn’t say the words to tell the younger man not to die on him. “Just hang on.”

Cooter half-scrambled, half-climbed back up the embankment, sending rocks and dirt skittering down in his wake.  When he reached the truck he grabbed the CB and switched it to the police channel.  He called to the Sheriff and told him that he needed assistance out on Snake Pass Trail.  Whether it was the worry evident in his voice, or the fact that Rosco hadn’t yet recovered from the fear he felt when Bo was hurt, the sheriff didn’t argue and promised to get someone there as quickly as he could.

 

 

Justin grinned over at Bo, laughing at the story Bo had been telling him about the time that he, Luke and Cooter convinced Enos that the General was a ghost.  After spending some time with Bo, Justin was feeling better about returning their friendship to its roots.  Privately he admitted he would miss the shared pleasure, but having Bo’s friendship was much better than not having him at all.

Bo laughed as Justin stopped the car. He smiled over at his friend as he opened the door.  “I’ll see you soon.” If the apprehension he felt showed in his blue eyes, just a bit, it couldn’t be helped, he was nervous as heck about seeing his cousin again.

Justin smiled warmly at the blond, wanting to see him through whatever was going on with the older man. “Okay, I’ll call you.” Justin promised as Bo got out of the car.

Justin dropped the car into gear and pulled away, tooting the horn and waving at his friend as he cleared the driveway.

Bo waved at the retreating car and spun around at the sound of the screen door slamming open – a major transgression in the Duke family.  Bo was startled at the sight of Daisy rushing out of the house, followed by their uncle.

“Bo! Thank God you’re here!” Daisy yelled.

“Daisy, what’s wrong?” Bo asked as Daisy plowed into him.  He caught the girl around the waist and held her at arm’s length, trying to figure out what was going on. 

“Luke…oh, it’s Luke….” Daisy groaned, clearly upset.

Bo drew Daisy toward him, cradling the crying woman on his shoulder.  He murmured soothingly, even though he didn’t know what was going on and his own heart was racing at the thought of what could be wrong with Luke.

“Come on, we need to get to the hospital.  Bo, you drive.” Jesse directed as he laboriously climbed into Daisy’s Jeep.

Bo herded Daisy to the Jeep and helped her into the backseat.  Once she was settled he climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car. He dropped the car into gear and headed for the road.  They were already about a mile down the road when Bo spoke up, breaking the silence. “What happened? Why is Luke in the hospital?” He didn’t even try to hide the worry that the words brought to the surface.

“We don’t know, exactly, Cooter just called and said for us to get over there right away.” Jesse answered, foot pressing into the floorboard as though to urge his nephew to drive faster. 

Daisy’s choked sobs could still be heard from the backseat, and Bo studiously tried to ignore them to keep the car on the road, his heart pounding as he drove as fast as he dared.

 

The three Dukes rushed through the doors at Tri-County hospital and headed for the emergency department.  The rushing pace of the staff and the smell of antiseptic had the three of them on edge before they even cleared the door.

Bo was the first to spot Cooter sitting on a chair in the waiting area, he tugged at Daisy’s hand, which had found its way into his somewhere between the car and the hospital door, and headed toward their friend.

Cooter stood as the Dukes neared, his blue eyes worried as he wrung his hat in his hands. 

“Cooter, what happened?” Bo asked, worry plain in his voice.

The mechanic stood as his friends approached, and reached to take Daisy’s other hand. “I saw Luke heading toward Snake Pass Trail as I was heading back from the Hanson place.  The speed he was going…” Cooter broke off and shook his head, “I turned around and followed him.  He got to the curve there, where they widened the road a few years ago, and I saw the General start to fishtail wildly…before I could hardly even know, it was rolling down the hill...If I’d just been a little bit sooner…” his voice trailed off, choked with what he’d seen. 

Bo put a hand on his friends shoulder, briefly putting aside his own worry and fear to reassure his friend. “Cooter, you couldn’t have done anything if you had been closer.  At least you were there.  If you hadn’t been there we might not have found him until it was too late.“  Cooter looked up at his friend and nodded at the words. “Don’t beat yourself up, Cooter.  We’re just glad you were there.”

“Thanks, Bo,” Cooter said with a small smile for the younger man.

“Thank you for taking care of him, Cooter,” Jesse added, patting Cooter’s other shoulder.  “Just wish I knew what he was doing going so fast over that road.” Jesse sighed as he wearily took a seat next to the chair Cooter had claimed.

Bo took his seat next to Jesse and Daisy settled next to her blond cousin.

Daisy wiped her eyes, her mind reeling as she realized something was wrong with what had happened. “Wait a minute, I dropped Luke off at Cooter’s place this morning to pick you up.” She looked at Bo with worried eyes. “What was he doing alone out there?”

Jesse turned to regard his youngest at his niece’s words. “That’s true. Not that I want you hurt too – I’ve had enough of that, but why wasn’t you with him?

Bo was spared having to answer as an older doctor in a long white coat came into the waiting room, he recognized Cooter as having come in with Luke, but surmised that the others were Luke’s family and chose to address Jesse. “I’m Doctor Mason, are you here for Luke Duke?”

Jesse looked up at the approach of the doctor and answered, “Yes, how is he?” He hoped that neither of his kids could tell that his heart was thundering in his chest with his anxiety over his oldest.

“He’s badly banged up, rolling a car like that…” the doctor sighed, “he’s lucky it wasn’t any worse.  He’s got a concussion, a broken arm, a couple of cracked ribs, all of that will heal in time.  He’s very lucky. “

“Thank God,” Daisy whispered.

“When can we see him?” Bo asked, relieved that Luke was going to be okay, even if his own emotions regarding his cousin were still a jumble.

“We’re moving him to a room now.  We’ll keep him overnight because of the head injury.  I’ll have a nurse come get you in a while and take you to him.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Jesse said, shaking the doctor’s hand.

“I’m always glad to deliver good news,” the doctor said as he returned the handshake.  He smiled at the others, and then turned and left the room.

“Thank God he’s going to be okay,” Jesse said as he settled back into his seat.

“Yeah,” Bo said, swallowing hard as his outright fear subsided, leaving nervous adrenaline in its wake.

“I’m glad he’s not hurt worse…I’ve found both of y’all after more wrecks than I care to count, but this one…” Cooter shook his head. “It was bad.”

“Glad you were there, Cooter, thanks.” Bo said again, turning to look past his uncle at the mechanic and giving him a watery smile.

“I’m glad I was too.”

Silence descended on the group for a few minutes, before Daisy realized Bo had never responded to Jesse’s question. “You never did say why you weren’t with Luke.”

Bo sighed and shook his head, not wanting to answer.  He glanced over at Cooter again, who gave him a nod of encouragement.  His voice was quiet as he finally spoke, “We had a fight.”

“Oh no!” Daisy exclaimed, “Not another one!” 

“Daisy, easy girl,” Jesse said as he reached in front of Bo and patted his niece on the hand.

“But Uncle Jesse…”

“Let Bo explain.”

“Yes, Sir,” Daisy answered sullenly.

Bo cleared his throat, he really didn’t want to explain, he didn’t think it was anyone else’s business, but at the same time he realized he had no choice in the matter, so he gave as simple an explanation as he could. “Cooter and I were sound asleep when Luke came into the house.  He saw us, got mad, said some things and then fled.”

Daisy’s eyes widened, her head turning to her cousin “You were sleeping with Cooter?”

Cooter didn’t know if he should laugh or be offended at the indignation in the young woman’s voice, he settled for keeping his mouth shut and letting Bo explain.

“We got drunk last night and collapsed, Daisy, that’s it.” Bo responded, affronted. 

“But still…Cooter…”

“Hey, I’m sitting right here you know.” Cooter finally couldn’t keep silent.

Daisy had the grace to blush, “Sorry.” 

“Cooter is a good man and a good friend.” Bo said, smiling. “And it really ain’t anyone else’s business even if something had happened, which it didn’t.”

Now it was Cooter’s turn to blush, his cheeks went flaming red at Bo’s statement.

“Just the same, Luke saw it and got mad.” Jesse said quietly “Or, jealous, more likely.”

Bo turned sharply to look at his uncle, eyes wide with the older man’s assessment. “How did you know?”

Jesse shrugged. “I just know.”

Bo sighed, realizing that Jesse knew more than he was letting on.  He disengaged himself from Daisy and stood.  “Excuse me, I need some air. I’m going to take a walk.”

“Okay, don’t be too long about it.” Jesse warned.

“I won’t be,” Bo responded, turning to head for the doors.

“Is he going to be okay?” Daisy asked, taking the seat Bo vacated and reaching for Jesse’s hand as the doors closed behind the blond Duke.

“I hope so, Daisy-girl, I really hope so.” Jesse answered, squeezing his niece’s hand.

 

Bo had been gone so long that Jesse was worried about the young man.  He patted Daisy’s hand and gave Cooter a nod as he rose from his chair. “I’m going to go see how Bo’s doing.”

“You want me to come, Uncle Jesse?” Daisy offered.

“No, honey, that’s okay, wait here for the nurse.  I’ll be back soon.” With that he turned and left the waiting room.  

As the doors closed behind him Jesse looked around the parking lot, finally spotting his nephew on a bench under a tree, his head down and hands clenched in front of him.  Bo looked miserable, a look that was totally wrong on the normally enthusiastic and exuberant Duke.  That look tore at Jesse’s heart whenever he saw it.   He walked over to where Bo was and took a seat next to the younger man, remaining silent for the moment.

Bo didn’t look up to acknowledge his uncle, but he knew that he was there.  He sighed, not knowing what to say, where to begin. 

“What really happened, Bo?”

Bo licked his lips, not really wanting to talk about it, but he knew he couldn’t evade Jesse.  “Like I said, we got drunk last night and collapsed into bed.  When the night started I had every intention of going to the room I shared with Luke when we stayed there, but, at the end of the night I couldn’t make it another few feet to get there.“  Bo looked at his uncle then, “and honestly it was nice not to be alone.” He hadn’t admitted until right then that he missed sleeping with someone right next to him.  Jesse nodded, but did not say anything, choosing to let his nephew speak for himself. “Last night, when Cooter was really far gone, he said something about Luke loving me.  I told him to take it back, I didn’t want to hear it.  I was afraid to hear it.” Bo went silent for a minute, his voice rough when he continued.  “Luke was in a rage, near as I could tell he dragged Cooter out of bed, yelling at him, asking him how he could do what he’d done knowing that he loved me.  He had Cooter up against the wall and I swear, Uncle Jesse, I’ve never been more afraid that Luke was going to kill someone than I was right then.” Bo shivered at the memory.  “I dragged Luke off of him and when Luke saw me, it must have clicked that I’d heard what he said, he tore away from me and ran out of the house so fast I couldn’t stop him. By the time I got dressed all that was left was the dust flying from the General’s wheels.” Bo sagged as he finished telling the story.

Jesse sat and silently contemplated Bo’s story, then asked a question. “When you first got home you didn’t look like a man who’d been in a fight with his best friend. You were laughing with Justin.”   There was no accusation in Jesse’s voice, only confusion.

“Cooter and I talked for a few minutes after Luke left. He said a few things that gave me a lot to think on.  I started walking when I left Cooter’s this morning. I walked until I couldn’t go any further and then I found a place to sit, I needed to think.  I was sitting down by the old creek, about a quarter of the way home, when Justin found me and offered me a ride – actually he begged me to accept a ride.  I wasn’t going to, but he convinced me not to try walking the rest of the way.  It was just as well, with everything that I found out, and everything running in my mind, I decided to break it off with him.”

“You didn’t look like you’d broken it off,” Jesse observed when Bo was silent a few minutes too long.

“We’re friends. I broke off everything else.  I’m not even sure if we’ll be good friends, but it was good to have someone to talk to.” Bo gave a wry snort as he remembered the story he had been telling as they pulled up to the farm. “I was laughing when we got home because I’d been telling him about the time that y’all thought Luke and I had drowned in the pond.  I was laughing about Luke telling me not to leave the keys in the car when we went swimming a few days later.” Bo swallowed hard.  “Talking about him reminded me about all the good times.  It let me remember that he’s my best friend.  And…well, it reminded me that I don’t want to lose that – even if he’s been rotten to me lately.”

Jesse sighed. “Bo, you ain’t gonna lose Luke.” The words were strong, even if there was a bit of worry behind them.  “He does love you, very much, which is why he’s been so jealous.” 

Bo looked up at his uncle, surprised at the ease with which his uncle made that statement. The look in Jesse’s eyes made Bo’s heart lurch. “Am I the only one who didn’t know?” Jesse gave Bo a sheepish smile, which told the blond he was right. “Why didn’t he say anything?”

“You’ll have to ask him that, it ain’t my place to tell you.”

“If he’ll speak to me again.”

“He will,” Jesse said, smiling at the younger man. “Give it some time.” He patted Bo on the hand as he settled back against the bench. “How do you feel?” he asked after a lengthy silence.

“Honestly, confused.  Run over.  I’m not sure how he could have hidden this – or why he did.” Bo sighed again.  “And Cooter said that if anything happened between us it would be real.  That I’m it for Luke…even that scares me. “

“Understandable given your track record.”

Bo snorted again, he did have a reputation in town – and even more than that he’d never really had or wanted a relationship. “I don’t know what to do, Uncle Jesse.”

“Give it some time, Bo, Luke’s going to need time to heal, and so are you, in your own way.”

“Yeah,” Bo said, looking toward the hospital again.

“We should head back inside.  We should be able to see him soon.”

“Yeah,” Bo said again, standing and waiting for his uncle to join him.

 

The nurse had just come to get the Dukes when Bo and Jesse walked into the waiting room. “He’s awake.  He does have a concussion, so he may not act like himself.” The young nurse warned. “He could be groggy, grumpy or just off.”

“We understand,” Jesse answered for the group. 

“Then come with me,” the blond nurse said, leading them to the second floor. 

Bo trailed the rest into the room, noting that Luke had the bed next to the window and that the room smelled the same and was as sterile and austere as the ones he had spent time in just a few months previously.  He stood back and swallowed hard at the bandaging he could see over Luke’s temple, and the tape holding his ribs in place. He didn’t want to walk in there but knew he had to.

Luke opened his eyes as his family approached. The first person he saw was Cooter, “What are you doing here?” The tone of his voice made it clear that he thought of Cooter as a traitor.

“Cooter found you,” Jesse answered for the younger man.

“Well I wish he hadn’t,” Luke growled and turned toward the window, blocking everyone out.

“Luke!” Daisy was stunned at the words spoken by her cousin.

“Daisy, he don’t mean that,” Cooter said, slipping an arm around the young woman. “He’s just upset.”

“What do you know?” Luke grumbled at the mechanic, not bothering to turn to look at him.

“I know you.” Cooter said, shaking his head at the stubborn Duke that was like kin to him.

“Whatever.”

The room descended into silence until Jesse spoke. “The doctor says you’ll be fine in a few weeks.”

“Yeah, great,” Luke responded, clearly not caring if that was the case or not.

Jesse stared at his oldest, and then looked at the rest of the group. “We’ll let you rest.  We’ll be back tomorrow to pick you up.”

“Fine.” Luke growled again.

Jesse stared at the brunet for a minute more, then shepherded the younger folks from the room, including the nurse who had been standing there the whole time.  

“I’m sorry.  I had hoped he’d be happy to see he has such a caring family.” The nurse said as she closed the door behind them.

“It’s not your fault, Miss.  Luke had a fight earlier and hasn’t had time to calm down or remember to be grateful.” Jesse said, giving the young blond a wan smile.  “He’ll get over it eventually, he always does.”

“Okay.” She said with a small smile. “Please let us know if you need anything.”

“Is there a waiting room or anything on this floor?” Bo asked.

“There’s a lounge for families down the hall,” the nurse answered.

“Thanks, I’ll find it, I’m sure.”

“Why’d’ya want that?” Jesse asked as the nurse walked away.

“I’m not going home.”

“Bo.” Jesse said, blue eyes giving his youngest, and most impetuous, a warning.

“Jesse, he didn’t leave me alone in the hospital, I ain’t leaving him.”

“He doesn’t want anyone around.”

“It don’t matter.”

“But the fight…” Daisy said.

“It’ll be settled one way or another, Daisy.  I ain’t leaving him.”

“Why did I have to have two such stubborn kids?” Jesse asked quietly, looking up at the heavens.

“They got it from you,” Cooter said, smiling at Jesse.

“Truer words ain’t never been spoken,” Jesse admitted with a small laugh. “Okay, Bo, have it your way, we’ll be back tomorrow to pick the two of you up.”

“Thanks.” Bo smiled at his kin, and watched as they started to walk away with Cooter. “Oh, Cooter, what about the General?”

Cooter turned back around at the sound of his name. “I’m on my way to pick him up now.  I’ll let you know what I find out.”

“Ain’t you gonna need some help getting him?”

“I’ll call LB on the way out there.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Sure, anytime…. Let’s just not make this a regular thing, okay?”

“Yeah, I agree.” Bo answered with a smile. He watched the family leave then, and turned in the opposite direction to find the lounge, intending to head back to Luke’s room once the older man was asleep.

 

Luke woke up to the glaring light of the hospital – glaring at least to a farm boy used to sleeping in total darkness.  The light, however, did allow him to see that he wasn’t alone.  The blond curls glinted in the garish hospital light, but those curls were unmistakable.  

Luke swallowed hard, anger warring with heartache as sleepy blue eyes blinked open. “What’re you doing here?” The voice was rough, from sleep and the need to hide the ache inside.

“I wasn’t gonna leave you alone.”

“I’m a big boy, Bo, I can take care of myself.” Luke glared at the blond, his fingers fisting in the blankets that weren’t quite covering him.  “Shouldn’t you be with Cooter or Justin?” 

Bo just glared back at his cousin, the sneer in the brunet’s words not worth answering.  Not worth starting a fight over.  “I ain’t leavin’ you.”

“Why? Get it through your head. I don’t want you here.” The words were a hiss, Luke was having all he could do to contain the hurt and anger simmering inside. “Go back to your little friends.  Go back to your games and ‘encounters’.  Get out of here.” 

“No.” Bo settled more back into his chair, not buying it for a minute that Luke wanted him gone.  If he knew one thing about his cousin, it was that he wouldn’t declare something one minute – even something never intended to be shared – and then do a complete about-face the next.

“Fine, suit yourself.” Luke turned over as much as the IV line would allow and closed his eyes, shutting Bo out of his view, even if he couldn’t shut the younger man out of his heart.  And he wasn’t too successful at shutting away the pain that radiated through him every time he thought about Bo sleeping with Cooter or laughing with Justin.

 

The next time Luke woke up it was to a bustling nurse opening the drapes and flitting around like a butterfly.  “There now, let in a little natural light, it’ll brighten up your day and your stay here.” The nurse turned toward Bo then. “You really shouldn’t be here,” she scolded.

“That’s what I told him.” Luke said, venom tingeing his voice, though Bo was likely the only one in the room who caught it.

“Aw, shucks, Ma’am, I just didn’t want my cousin waking up in a lonely hospital room and not knowing anyone around.” Bo gave her a wide smile and a small tilt to his head, half-flirting, even if the nurse was old enough to be his mother.  “And anyway, he stayed with me when I was here a few months ago.” If that was a subtle reminder to Luke, Bo didn’t even look in his cousin’s direction.

“Now ain’t you a sweetheart.  I wish my own boys was like you.” She patted Bo on the cheek.

“He’s up for adoption,” Luke said, deadpan.

The nurse laughed. “Good to see your sense of humor is still intact.”

“Who said I was kidding?” Luke all but growled.

The nurse just laughed more as she headed to the door. “You just make sure you eat all your breakfast, if you want to go home today.”

“I’ll make sure he does,” Bo promised.  

The nurse waved and smiled at the younger Duke as she closed the door behind herself.

As soon as the door was closed Luke pushed the breakfast tray away and turned toward the window.

“You heard her, Luke, you need to eat.”

“I ain’t hungry.”

“Lukas.”

“Go away, Beauregard.” Luke hoped his use of Bo’s full name would send the other man out sputtering.

Bo just glared at his cousin. “Bo. My name is Bo.”

“Your name is _Beauregard_ , Beauregard.” Luke deliberately used the hated name, determining to do so until his cousin left him alone. “You want the food gone so bad, you eat it.”

“It’s your breakfast.”

“I ain’t hungry.”

Bo rolled his eyes and muttered about stubborn cousins. 

“Go home.”

“No.” Bo settled back into his chair, determined to wait out his stubborn brunette cousin.

Luke glared out the window for another good few minutes.  When he looked back into the room he turned his blue glare on the blond that wouldn’t leave him alone. “Fine,” Luke growled.  He pulled the tray toward him and made a great show of eating the mushy eggs, runny grits and tough ham.  Any other time he would have joked about military food being ten times better, but he was too raw to even think of joking with his blond cousin.

Bo watched Luke’s show with distaste, grimacing at the food passing his cousin’s lips.  The long night had given him time to think.  He still wasn’t sure he was ready for a relationship as such, but he wasn’t upset that Luke said he loved him.  He had faced the fact that they had come too close for comfort to losing the older brunet yesterday and that knowledge did something to a person.  He was getting upset with the way Luke was treating him, but now wasn’t the time to address what was going unsaid between the two of them. 

 

The morning dragged for the Dukes.  Luke stared out the window, Bo stared at the pages of a car magazine he had found at the gift shop when he went down to grab a bite to eat.  When they weren’t glaring at inanimate objects the blond and brunet glared at each other.  Bo steadfastly refused to leave, despite Luke’s continued efforts to get him to.  Luke refused to give up his anger – it was the only thing holding him together at the moment.

The doctor walked in during one of the cousin’s stare-downs and looked from one to the other.  “Mr. Duke, let’s get a look at that head injury, huh?” The kindly old doctor said, stepping up to the bed.

Luke let himself be poked and prodded, let a light get shined in his eyes, put up with the blood pressure cuff around his arm and the stethoscope pressed to his chest.  The doctor pulling out a tongue depressor and instructing him to open wide was too much though. “Doc, I’m here for a head injury, to you really need to do that?”

The doctor shook his head. “I suppose we can let it slide this one time.”

“Much obliged,” Luke said, leaning back in the bed.

“Well, you look like you’re going to heal just fine.  I’ll let you go home today, but I want to see you back in a week for a follow-up.” The doctor stood and smiled at both Dukes, his dark gaze coming to rest on Bo. “Make sure he gets plenty of rest and good food.”

“Yes, Sir, I will.” Bo promised with a 100 watt grin.

“Good, I’ll have the discharge papers brought up when they’re ready.” 

 

“Yes sir, I will.” Luke sneered as soon as the doctor left the room.  “I don’t need you or no one else.” Luke started to get out of the bed and wavered, his balance not what it should be. “Just go back to Justin – or Cooter if he’s more your type. Leave me be.”

“Lukas, I ain’t leavin’ you, get it through that thick skull of yours.”

“Fine, suit yourself.” Luke growled, managing to get his feet under him and grab his jeans from the second chair in the room.

“Let me help you.” 

“I can get dressed myself, Beauregard!” 

“You got one arm, Lukas, dang it will ya let me help!” Bo tried to take the jeans from Luke to help the older man, but stumbled back when Luke ripped them away.

“I don’t need you!” Luke was losing it, what’s more is he knew he was losing it and couldn’t see how to stop it.  The night was too long, between the nurses coming in every few hours to wake him up and the scents and sounds of the unfamiliar surroundings.  And the day before had been longer yet with the secrets revealed and emotional mountains and valley’s he’d travelled.

The door opened before Bo could answer, letting Jesse and Daisy into the room. “What in tarnation is going on in here!?” Jesse growled – it would have been a roar if they weren’t in public.

“He won’t leave me be.” Luke turned his glare on Bo again, and he felt a moments regret when he saw Bo shrink away from him just the smallest bit.

“I was trying to help.” Bo defended himself to his uncle.

Jesse took in the situation, Luke with a pair of pants in his hand, the rage simmering in light blue eyes, and he sensed the pain that rested just below the surface.  The old moonshiner took this all in with just a half-second glance between his boys.  And he knew those boys well enough to know that regrets would come soon enough, but for the time being there were other matters to be dealt with. “I’ll help you get dressed. Daisy, take Bo down to the cafeteria for a few minutes.”

“Yes, Sir,” Daisy responded, looking between her blond and brunet cousins.  She knew that there was a lot of familial love there, as well as a love on Luke’s part that was more than just that.  But at the moment she was afraid that whatever connection the boys had, had been severed beyond repair.

Bo leveled a glare at Luke, and his eyes weren’t much more respectful when they landed on Jesse, despite his quiet acknowledgement of the tacit order to get lost for a bit.  Bo slipped his arm around Daisy as they headed for the door.

Once the door closed behind his younger cousins, Luke leveled his glare at his uncle, who promptly ignored him.

“Let’s get you into these clothes so you can go home.” Jesse held open the pants for his oldest nephew, not bothering to address the behavior he hadn’t liked seeing.

“Ain’t you gonna yell at me?” Luke asked as he stepped into the pair of pants.

“Something tells me I don’t need to,” Jesse answered as he helped Luke fasten the button once the younger man had pulled up the zipper.

Luke watched his uncle for a long minute, not sure what to make of that comment, then obediently held out his one good arm so Jesse could get a shirt over it. Jesse draped the blue plaid shirt over Luke’s shoulder and the cast holding the broken arm, then fastened the shirt in front with a couple of clips Daisy had attached the night before. 

“I…”Luke started to say once he was seated on the side of the bed, waiting.

“We’ll talk later.” Jesse promised, interrupting his nephew as he sat in the chair Bo had so recently vacated.  “Besides, it ain’t me you need to talk to.”

Luke hung his head at the truth in Jesse’s words – he just didn’t know where to begin.  Words, especially calm words were not his forte when he was angry or hurting, and at the moment those were the only two emotions he was capable of acknowledging. 

 

Bo hopped over the side of the Jeep when Daisy pulled into the yard.  He held out a hand to Jesse as the older man struggled to get out of the back seat, having left the passenger seat for the injured member of the family.  

Luke all but crawled out of the vehicle and headed toward the house without another look at any member of his family. He could feel the eyes on the back of his head but at the moment he just didn’t care.  “I’m goin’ to lay down.” The words _leave me alone_ went unspoken, but they were heard just the same.

Bo watched as his cousin went into the house, once the door closed he leaned heavily against the Jeep, his heart aching for everything that was going on.  

“He’ll get over himself one of these days, Bo.” Jesse tried to reassure his youngest, patting the blond on the shoulder.

“I sure hope so,” Bo muttered, his mind swirling.

“He will.” Jesse reassured the youngest member of the family.  “Come on, why don’t we get chores done while Daisy starts supper.”

“Yes, Sir.” Bo couldn’t quite keep the frustration out of his words as he walked with his uncle toward the barn.

 

Jesse’s prediction turned out to be true enough, though it took days before Luke was looking at any of the members of his family with anything but stormy blue eyes.   Bo felt it the most though.  Luke wouldn’t look at him unless he was forced to. When he was forced to acknowledge his cousin he did so grudgingly. He wouldn’t say a kind word to Bo, at all.  

Bo couldn’t help but notice how Luke settled down with their uncle and cousin after a few days.  If he wasn’t friendly, he was at least civil, mostly, but Bo still garnered his ire.  Every time Bo tried to do something for his cousin Luke ripped it away from him, or sneered at him or otherwise made it known that he didn’t need the help of little blond cousins.  

Luke’s continued anger ate away at Bo, he became frazzled, edgy, anxious and angry himself. 

 

On the morning he was to go to the doctors for a follow up, Luke wandered into the kitchen for breakfast and settled at his spot, his broken arm supported against his side by a sling, his shirt as neatly tucked in as he could do for himself.  He smiled at Daisy when she put a plate heaped with eggs, bacon, grits and toast in front of him, and even thanked Jesse when he put a cup of coffee on the table for him.

“You’re welcome, Luke.” Jesse responded, pleased that Luke’s manners seemed to have returned.

“You ready for your doctor’s appointment today, Sugar?” Daisy asked as the back door opened to let in the blond member of the family.

Luke didn’t even spare a glance to the blond entering the kitchen, but turned to Daisy with a smile. “Yeah, I hope he’ll at least get rid of the tape over my ribs.”

“You’ll have to wait and see.” Jesse said, taking his seat.  “Bo’ll have to drive you, Daisy has to work, and I promised Widow Larson I’d take her shopping today.” Jesse grimaced a bit, but the widow had been married to one of his oldest friends and since her husband had passed on she’d relied on the Dukes, to help her when she needed anything.

“I’ll drive myself.”

“No, you won’t,” Jesse responded, voice a bit harsher than necessary. “The doc said you needed to keep that right arm still and you can’t drive like that.”

“I’ll do fine, Uncle Jesse.”

“You’ll do what I say.” Jesse’s voice held a warning that brooked no argument.

“Don’t worry, Luke, I ain’t expectin’ you to treat me as anything more than a taxi driver.” Bo griped from where he sat with a plate of food mostly untouched in front of him.  

“Humph.” Luke snorted, but he put his mind to eating at the look Jesse shot him at the disparaging remark.

 

Bo was not in the best of moods as he got into the Jeep to drive his cousin to Capitol City. First off, they weren’t in the General, since Luke couldn’t get in and out of the doorless car.  And secondly, he wasn’t looking forward to spending any more time with Luke than necessary.  

Luke glowered at his younger cousin as the Jeep started toward the hospital. He didn’t want to be held captive by someone else driving, and his heart still ached at the thought of Bo with another man – even if he couldn’t tell the younger man how much it hurt.

For his part Bo just did the one thing he did best, he drove.  He barely said two words to his cousin as he dropped him off in front of the hospital.

“Be back in an hour.”

“Yeah.” Bo responded gruffly.

Luke shook his head and made his way toward the entrance, mumbling about danged kid cousins.  

Bo moved off, though not far, and parked under the shade of a tree, his mind still reeling.  He had no clue what to do and what to say to his cousin.

 

Cooter Davenport pulled into the hospital parking lot and noticed the familiar Jeep parked out of the way. He shut down the tow-truck and hopped out, heading in that direction.  When he saw the blond man sitting there, he smiled to himself, glad to see his friend.  “Hey there, Bo.” Cooter said, sliding into the passenger seat.

“Cooter!” Bo startled from his thoughts as the Jeep dipped with the weight of the other man. “What are you doing here?”

“Aw, I came to see old Bob Madison, he’s in with the gout and I thought he could use some company.”

Bo nodded. “That’s right nice of you.”

“Thanks.  What are you doing here?” The older man asked, though he suspected he knew.

“Luke needed a ride to his appointment.”

Cooter nodded. “How are things?”

Bo snorted. “Horrible. Awful. Couldn’t be worse, not much anyway.”

“Why?” Cooter asked, curious.

“He seems to think I should go back to Justin – or you.”

Cooter laughed out loud at that, but the laughter quickly died at the look on his friend’s face. “He means it?  He thinks that there’s something going on?”

“Yeah, he does. No amount of reassurance can convince him.”

“Dipstick.” 

Bo chortled at the label, not how he’d usually think of his cousin, but appropriate under the circumstances. “Yeah, he is.” Bo sighed. “Dang it, I don’t know what to do anymore.  He’s half-convinced that I’m going out with either of you.  He’s still acting like I’m lower than the ant on the bottom of his shoe.  I’m starting to wish I just hadn’t come back.”

Cooter sighed. “He’s hurting.  If I know him he thinks that if he pushes you away he won’t hurt, but it’ll hurt all the worse.”

“I don’t know what to do. Normally I know how to handle him, how to think like him, but this time…” Bo’s voice trailed off and he looked over at the mechanic. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“Stick with him, Bo.  You know him, probably better than anyone. He just has to remember that.”

“Yeah.” Bo answered with another sigh.

“Listen, I better get, I don’t want to keep Bob waiting, I brought him something to eat.”

“Okay, take care.  Tell him I said hi.”

“Will do, Buddy.  Keep your chin up, it will get better.” Cooter promised as he slid from the Jeep.

“Yeah.” Bo answered, though he sounded less than convinced.

 

Luke walked out of the hospital, fit to be tied when he didn’t see the Jeep.  The doctor had pronounced him reasonably fit, and only given him a brace for his arm, to be used daily to keep the arm minimally active.  He glanced around the parking lot and finally spotted the Jeep, the tow truck parked a few rows closer didn’t even register with him.

The dark-haired Duke slid into the Jeep without a sound and settled back.

Bo started the car and backed out of the spot, heading for home. He wanted to ask how it had gone but figured Luke would tell him if he wanted to.  About halfway home Bo couldn’t take it anymore.  “How’d it go?” 

“Fine.” Luke’s voice was still gruff – angry. “You won’t need to take care of me any longer.” 

At Luke’s snide words Bo brought the Jeep to a stop with a screech.  Luke swore as he was flung forward against the dashboard.  “Damn it, Bo!”

Bo sat as still as he could, barely noticing that the car behind them had to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting them, and that car nearly collided with a truck carrying a coop of chickens.

“What the hell did you do that for!?” Luke growled as he caught the breath that had been knocked out of him.   He watched the blue car that had nearly hit them continue on down the road, fast as it could safely go.

“Get out.”

“What? No! No, I won’t get out.” Luke spat.

“Get out, Lukas.” Bo’s voice was cold, colder than ice.

“You ain’t leavin’ me here.” 

“Fine.” Bo dropped the Jeep into gear and lurched forward, barely missing another car and quickly gaining speed. 

Luke grabbed the dash and held on as best as he could with one hand. “Are you trying to get us killed!?” He had never seen his cousin this out of control behind the wheel and it actually scared him.

“Don’t matter none.” Bo shouted over the roar of the wind whipping around them.

“What!? Yes it does!” Luke answered, also shouting.

Bo glanced behind them and made sure there were no other cars around, he then screeched to a stop again. “No, it don’t!” He was panting, his voice ragged as he spoke.  He turned toward his dark-haired cousin. “You don’t give a damn about nothin’ anymore.  You grumble, growl, snark and snarl all day.  And hell, you don’t say a damn civil word to me anymore.  You drop a bombshell on me, tell me you love me, and then, before I can even come to understand it or know how I feel, you act like you can’t stand the sight of my face. Decide which it is, Lukas, ‘cause I’m done putting up with you actin’ like a jackass.” Finishing his rant Bo dropped the Jeep into gear and tore off toward the farm.  

Luke was shocked into silence by Bo’s tirade, blue eyes watching his blond cousin, the fury in the face that so often, until recently, held nothing but joy and laughter.  

Once Bo reached the farm he parked the vehicle and got out, wishing that there was a door to slam.  Without another word he headed toward the house and their room.

 

Luke watched his cousin disappear into the house, his eyes hooded and thoughts reeling.  Stepping out of the Jeep he knew a rare moment of indecision.  He wanted to follow his cousin, to apologize, and try to make things right.  And yet he couldn’t quite let go of the feeling that he couldn’t appear to be that vulnerable after everything that had happened.  

Jesse came out of the barn while Luke was standing there. He approached his nephew and gave a wide smile. “How’d it go, Luke?”

Luke turned to look at Jesse, his eyes unreadable. “I don’t know,” he answered, not really speaking of the doctor’s appointment.

“You don’t know?” Jesse was puzzled by the response.

“I…I gotta…” Luke stammered and headed for the house, sick to his stomach at the thought that he really had pushed Bo away.  At the thought that he may never see the sparkle in Bo’s dark blue eyes; that he may never hear his blonds laugh again. 

Jesse took off his red cap and scratched his head, wondering at the stammering of his oldest – the one man who always seemed to know what to do and always knew his own mind.  After a moment, he decided best not to follow his nephew, shook his head sadly, settled the cap back on his head then went back to the barn, to finish the work he’d started earlier in the day.

 

Luke pushed open the door of the bedroom he shared with his cousin and saw a suitcase on Bo’s bed half-crammed with blue jeans and yellow shirts.  Luke’s heart pounded at the sight of his cousin packing. “Bo.” His voice cracked and he tried again. “Bo, please.”

“What?” Bo asked harshly as he turned from where he was pulling more shirts from the closet.  His own heart was thundering in his chest, he really hadn’t wanted it to come to this.

Luke shook his head, trying to clear his mind and keep his emotions at bay. “I’m sorry I’ve been a jackass. Please…don’t leave like this.”

“Why should I stay, you don’t believe a word I say anyway.”

“I…” Luke started then he stopped as he ran a hand through his hair. “I…oh hell, this is so damned hard.”

“What’s so hard about it Luke, you don’t believe me. You think I’d rather be off with someone else – even if I have been here every day, trying to help you, trying to take care of you despite your best efforts to get rid of me.” Bo was trying hard to keep angry tears in check. 

Luke swallowed hard, knowing that Bo was speaking the truth.  The younger man had been there every day, he had taken care of Luke – he had stayed even when Luke was so cruel to him. “You have…you have and I’m an idiot.”

“You’re dang right I have.  I’ve put up with it all, and I’m tired of it.” Bo slammed the lid of the suitcase shut, picked it up and strode from the room.  He nearly ran Jesse down in the kitchen and almost stopped at the look his uncle gave him. “I ain’t goin’ far, Uncle Jesse, but I can’t be here right now.” He was trying to reassure his uncle, but inside his heart was heavy with what he felt forced to do.

Jesse nodded and watched as his youngest left the house, wondering if this was ever going to get better.

Luke was right on the heels of the raging blond. He went to the door and watched as Bo slid into the General Lee.  The car took off with a roar and a cloud of dust and all Luke could do was watch as his world came crashing down around him.  He stood there staring at the empty yard for a long time before he turned back into the kitchen and sank into a chair.  “I screwed up.” The words were hardly more than a whisper when he finally spoke, the tears he wasn’t letting fall clearly evident in the timbre of his voice.

“I won’t disagree with that.” Jesse said, setting himself down in his own chair.  He hated to see his oldest broken.  To his mind Luke had always been the strongest among them.  

“I don’t know what to do now.  I got what I thought I wanted…” he turned sad blue eyes on his uncle “I don’t want it after all.”

“I figured as much.” Jesse sighed.  “Give it some time, Luke. Give it some time.” He reached over and patted Luke’s hand, almost surprised when the other man didn’t pull away.

 

Bo’s mind spun as he drove toward town, wondering where to go. His only thought as he was packing was that he had to get away from Luke and the farm and the continual hurt that was overwhelming him.  When he saw the road that would lead to Cooters, he quickly made the decision and spun the car to the right.  He knew that the older man would give him a place to stay for however long he needed it and the safety of a friend sounded really good to him at the moment.  About halfway there he realized that given what Luke thought about him, staying with Cooter would not be the best option.  He turned the car in a tight one-hundred eighty degree spin and headed back toward town.  His mind flitted to Justin then, but he ruled that out too, for the same reason.  

Finally he pulled to a stop at the only place that made sense, given his predicament, the rooming house.  Daisy had lived there for a few days once, when she was mad at the boys, and Enos had lived there since he’d turned 18, so at least there would be one person he knew around.  And it would feel safe, even if he would be alone for the most part.  

 

The room Bo was assigned wasn’t much – a small bed in one corner, a dresser with a hot plate opposite that.   A small table sat underneath the one window and there was a low cabinet next to that for storage.  The room was gray and not very homey, but it suited Bo’s mood at the moment.  

He dashed furious tears away from his cheeks as he unpacked his meager suitcase and put the clothing in the dresser drawers.  Once he was done he sat on the bed and put his head in his hands, letting go of his pain and rage and heartbreak.  

His mind was reeling with the emotions boiling inside of him, the heartache, pain, and betrayal he felt from his cousin.  That, compounded by not knowing what he was going to do to make things right or put his life on track, pushed the younger man into a tailspin.  

 

Jesse watched despondently over the next few days as Luke’s demeanor changed again.  Only now, instead of being harsh and cold, he was even more closed off.  He wouldn’t say two words to anyone that he didn’t have to. He spent most of his time in his room and Jesse didn’t know what good that would accomplish.  He heard from Cooter that Bo was at the rooming house, and a couple of times he almost said something to Luke, but every time he opened his mouth, Luke would walk right on past like he didn’t even see his uncle.  

Daisy noticed it too and her heart was breaking a bit more every day with the rift in the family.  The boys had mostly stood together, the few times they had been at odds had been the darkest days in the family – and this time was no exception.  

 

A few days after Bo left, Daisy wandered into the kitchen late at night, wide awake with dark circles under her eyes.  

Jesse watched his niece walk into the room and it was apparent that she had been crying.  Silently Jesse stood and poured a cup of warm milk from the pan he’d made. He offered Daisy the mug, which she accepted and then set down on the table.  Jesse opened his arms to his niece and she moved into the warmth and comfort of the only father she’d ever known, letting the tears come freely against his shoulder.  Jesse let her cry and simply stroked her hair, holding her close, offering what comfort he could – even as his own heart was breaking.

Finally Daisy pulled away and looked up into the blue of her uncle’s eyes. “What are we gonna do, Uncle Jesse?  We can’t go on like this.”

“No, Daisy, we can’t.” Jesse’s words were gruff with his own emotion. “But it ain’t our place to solve this.  It’s between Bo and Luke.”

Daisy shook her head. “Dang, dumbass men.”

“Daisy…” Jesse’s voice warned.

“I’m sorry Uncle Jesse, but it’s true.  Bo’s so dang scared of commitment that he’s afraid to let Luke love him.  And Luke’s so dang stubborn and pigheaded that he won’t go to Bo and even try anymore.  He’d rather tear around the house, snarking at one of us, or sulk in his room than face the fact that he hurt Bo by accusing him of things he wasn’t even thinking of doing.”

“Did Bo talk to you?” Jesse asked, sitting down at the table.

“No.” Daisy admitted as she took a seat next to her uncle.

“Then you can’t know what he was or wasn’t thinking of doing.”

“Maybe not directly, but Justin was in the Boar’s Nest a few days ago.  When I asked how he was he said he was good.  I asked if he’d seen Bo around town and he said he hadn’t, and that he hadn’t seen Bo since Luke got hurt.  He said that he and Bo was only friends and that Bo himself put a stop to anything else.”

Jesse thought about that for a few minutes.  “There’s still Cooter.”

“No, Uncle Jesse, there was never anything with Cooter, you know that as well as I do.  Cooter is a good friend, but he likes girls way too much to take up with Bo – even if he is cute.”  Daisy smiled a bit at the picture of her blond cousin that she brought to mind with his name. 

“We still can’t interfere, Daisy.  Luke needs to get over his mad.  He needs to realize that when the chips are down, Bo will always stand with him – if he’ll let him.  And Bo…Bo needs to know that Luke ain’t gonna accuse him every time the going gets tough.”

 

While Daisy and Jesse were talking in the kitchen, Luke was sleeping down the hall.  The sleep was fitful, however and Luke woke often.  When he slept long enough to dream, those dreams often turned to nightmares.  One particular nightmare had Luke sitting straight up in bed and crying out, “Bo!”

Daisy had been passing back to her room when she heard that cry.  She opened the door without thinking and stepped into her room.  She rushed to the bed and was immediately grabbed by her older cousin.  “Luke! Sh…it’s okay, honey.” 

“It ain’t…it ain’t okay…” Luke was beside himself.  “Bo…”

“Bo’s fine, Luke, he’s living at the boarding house,” Daisy said calmly, thinking that Luke was looking for the younger man.

“No…no, it’s not okay…it ain’t.” Luke was nearly panting with the after-effects of the dream.

“Come on, cousin, lay back down, I’ll stay with you for a bit,” Daisy soothed, gently pushing Luke back down onto the bed.  

Luke reluctantly allowed himself to be settled back onto the bed, but he was determined not to sleep.  Daisy was just as determined that Luke get some rest and started humming to him.  Before too long, Luke sighed and gave in to the sleep his body craved, even through the fighting of his mind.

 

The next morning, Luke woke to the feeling of someone next to him.  In his sleep-deprived mind, he spoke without thinking.  “Bo?” the name was a hopeful question.

Daisy heard her cousin wake with their younger cousin’s name on his lips, and shook her head.  “Sorry, hon, it’s just me.”

“Daisy…” The disappointment couldn’t be clearer in the other man’s voice.

“Luke, honey, you have to talk to him.”

“I can’t Daisy…I’ve made such a danged mess of everything.”

“Luke, you have to.  You can’t keep going on like this.”  

“I’ll see.”

Daisy sighed and stood, bending down to press a kiss to Luke’s forehead, knowing she wasn’t going to get anything more out of him at that moment.

 

Across town, the blond Duke was also awake, however, in his case he hadn’t yet been to bed.  He was sitting out on the porch at the boarding house, watching as sparrows, chickadees and cardinals woke from their slumbers.  Tired as he was, sleep had eluded him once again.

Enos stepped out onto the porch of the rooming house, surprised to see the blond Duke there. “Bo, you okay?”  The young deputy asked, his boots thumping across the porch as he approached his friend.

Bo looked up, startled at the other man’s presence.  “Hey Enos.  Can’t sleep.”

“You should try some warm milk, that always works for me,” Enos said with his trademark nervous chuckle.

“Yeah, maybe I’ll try that, thanks Enos,” Bo looked up at his friend, though Enos couldn’t help but notice that the sparkle was missing from the blonds eyes.

 

That night the boarding house settled down early – as always – except, once again, for the blond Duke.  Enos returned from his workday – which had been significantly lengthened due to a fight at the Boar’s Nest – to find his blond friend in the exact same spot as when he’d left that morning.

“Bo, I been told I’m a good listener, if there’s somethin’ I can help with.” 

“Thanks, Enos, I just got a lot on my mind.” Bo gave the other man a wan smile. “Ms. Nelson said to tell you that your supper’s warming in the oven – and don’t forget to turn off the oven when you get it out.” The smile that came with that admonishment was real, and brought a chuckle to both men.

 

Luke paced the front porch of the Duke home, angry at himself for being jealous, angry at Bo for making him jealous, and frustrated that he had no idea how to fix the mess he’d made.

Jesse stepped out on the porch and watched his nephew as he took a seat on the swing which hung from the porch roof.  “You can’t go on like this…you need to do something.”

“I know.” 

“Daisy said you had a nightmare last night.”

Luke reeled on his uncle “She had no right!”

“She’s worried about you!” Jesse’s voice was harsher than normal, in response to Luke’s raised voice.

“I ain’t…I don’t…”

“She loves you, Luke – and she’s worried.”

“Yeah…” Luke’s voice trailed off as he stepped up to the porch railing and held on, looking out over Duke land.  Seeming to change the subject he asked his uncle over his shoulder, “what happens to this place in the future…when you’re…” he couldn’t finish the sentence, not wanting to think of that.

“When I’m gone, I hope that you and Bo will run this place – farm it.”

Luke sighed and bowed his head “I was afraid of that…”

“Luke, you need to talk to him – clear the air if nothing else….”

“I don’t know what to say.” 

“Tell ‘em what’s real.  Whatever you feel the truth to be.”

Luke groaned and leaned heavily against the old railing.  Finally he stood back, apparently having come to a decision. “I’ll be home when I get here.

“You going to talk to your cousin?”

Luke nodded, giving a heavy sigh as he made his way to the Jeep.

  
Bo was leaning against the porch railing when he saw a very familiar pair of headlights approaching from the direction of the farm.  For all of a minute, he debated retreating to his room and ignoring the person he figured was occupying the vehicle.  But over 20 years of friendship wouldn’t let him.  Over the past few days his anger and frustration had cooled, and he really missed his friend.

Luke pulled Dixie up to the curb behind the General Lee and stepped out. The full moon illuminated the Georgia night just enough that he was able to see the shadow on the porch – a shadow that very much looked like it belonged to the person he came to see, the person who held his heart.  Luke’s heart pounded as he approached the steps that would lead him to his cousin.

“Bo?” 

“Hi Luke,” Bo answered, surprised at how tentative his normally bold cousin sounded.   The blond took a few steps toward the approaching brunet.

“Can we go somewhere and talk?” Luke asked.  “We can take separate cars, if you want.” 

Bo didn’t answer for a long minute, uncertain if he was ready to talk to Luke, but knowing that they needed to reconcile – or at least try to.  “Yeah…let’s just take the General,” the blond said, digging keys out of his pocket and heading to the driver’s side of the orange stock car.

Luke’s heart pounded harder at the length of time it took his blond cousin to answer, and he let out what could only be described as a sigh when Bo finally answered.  “Okay,” Luke said, taking another deep breath as he stepped up to the car and slid into the passenger side.

“Where to?” 

Luke thought about that for a minute, wanting someplace off the beaten path, where they could be alone, but that wouldn’t have intimate memories for either of them. “Let’s go to the Indian caves,” he finally responded.

“Okay,” Bo answered, dropping the big car into gear and heading out of town in the direction of the Indian caves that the boys had played in as children, and used to hide out in as adults.

 

The drive was made in silence – unfortunately not the comfortable silence the boys were used to.  When Bo pulled to a stop, he turned to look at his cousin.  Luke also turned to look at Bo, neither of them knowing where to start.  Finally Luke nodded to his cousin, indicating that they should get out of the car at least.  Once outside Luke climbed up onto the hood of the car and settled back against the windshield.  Taking his cousin’s cue, Bo did the same, coming to rest a few inches from the brunet.

“Bo…”

“Luke…”

The tension was broken with a laugh as the two men started to speak together.  

“You first,” Bo conceded.

Luke took a deep breath before speaking again.  “I have no right to ask your forgiveness, but please, just let me speak – okay?” Luke waited for Bo’s nod before continuing, “I’m sorry, Bo.  I never should have treated you like I have been.  You’ve been trying so hard to help, and I was just a jealous jerk.  And I’m sorry.”

Bo nodded, looking at Luke as though silently telling him to continue.

“When I first found out about you and Justin, I should have told you right then that I love you,” Luke’s voice lowered on the words, the brunet having trouble keeping his voice from shaking as he spoke words that he’d feared to speak.  “Instead, I acted like a jackass every time you went out with him.” He paused for a beat, not wanting to admit the rest, but knowing he had to.  “The real reason I asked you to shower when you got home wasn’t because of the beer and smoke – it was the sex, I could smell him on you and I hated it.” Luke sighed and looked away, “hated knowing he had a part of you that I couldn’t bring myself to ask for.” Luke paused again, his voice quiet and sad when he next spoke.  “When you got hurt, I was so scared – I thought that we’d…I’d…lost you, lost any chance I might have had to love you.  I don’t think I’ve ever been as scared in my life.” Luke glanced at his cousin, making sure that the blond was still listening.  “I was going to tell you when you was feeling better, I didn’t want to do it right away and have you think that I was only grateful you were still with us, or that it was a reaction to the accident.”  Luke took a deep breath before continuing, glad that Bo was quietly letting him speak.  “But then you took off with Justin on the night that we were out celebrating your recovery.  I felt like I suddenly wasn’t as important to you – and I guess then I subconsciously decided to push you away as a way to keep from getting hurt,” Luke shook his head as memories and emotions came flooding back.  “When I saw you in bed with Cooter, I was mad at you, but even more furious at him because I felt betrayed – he knew how I feel about you.  And because he’d told you something that wasn’t his right to tell you.” Luke paused, taking a breath as he looked at his hands in the moonlight.  “When my secret got let out of the bag that morning, I was scared – and angry with myself for not telling you the way I wanted, for being a coward.” The silence lingered as Luke formed his next words.  “When I saw you with Justin later that same day, I lost it – lost control like I haven’t in…practically forever.  I swear, I wasn’t trying to get hurt…but I honestly didn’t care if I lived or died at the time.” Luke looked over at Bo as the blond’s breath hitched with those words. “Afterward, I figured you just stayed with me because you felt obligated – and that was really not how I wanted…want…you with me.  The thing is, the more I pushed you away, the more I hated myself, but I couldn’t find a way to tell you what I needed to say.  To…come clean and salvage whatever part of our friendship I could.  My world was collapsing and I didn’t know how to stop it.”

Bo reached over and covered Luke’s hands with one of his own, hating the tone of his cousins voice, the fear that he could sense in the other man, that was so unusual for the normally confident man.

“Tell me now,” Bo’s words were quiet, but with a depth of authority rarely heard from the blond.

Luke took a ragged breath, looking at where his hands were covered by the hand of his cousin, his best friend.  He turned one of his hands over and clasped Bo’s.  “What I said all those months ago across the border in Tennessee was that I don’t want to be here if you aren’t.” Luke tilted his head to meet the deep blue eyes of the man who held his heart, the man he would give everything for. “You are the bright spot in my world, Bo.  You always have been.  I love you.  I’ve loved you for so long.” The strong brunet’s voice was breaking with the emotion behind his words. “I’ve been in love with you for so long.”

Bo kept his gaze on the other man.  “Why did I have to hear it from Cooter? Why did everyone know but me?”

“Because…I was afraid.  If I risked it all – told you how I felt – and you didn’t feel the same way I’d lose not only my light, my chance at love, but my best friend as well.”

“Yet you pushed me away.”

“It hurt, but so did the thought of you with another man.” Luke looked at Bo, blue eyes meeting blue. “I was wrong not to tell you – not to talk to you.  I am so sorry.”

Bo nodded in understanding. “Cooter said that I was it for you…that if we was together that would be it.” Luke nodded and Bo continued, “What do you want, Luke?”

“I want…I want it all.  I want to love you – to show you I love you.  I want to know that no matter who you or I flirt with at the Boar’s Nest we’re going home together.  I want to go to sleep next to you at night and wake up with you in the morning.”

“We was already doin’ all that,” Bo pointed out.

Luke nodded and swallowed hard. “We were, but I don’t want to go to sleep and wake up with you across the room.  I want to be your lover,” the brunet almost didn’t get the words out.  He had never spoken those words so bluntly to anyone in his life and it terrified him.  “I know after all I put you through I don’t deserve that.  And I wouldn’t blame you for telling me to get lost.  But in my heart, that’s what I want.  You’re the only one for me, Bo.  You always have been.”

Bo swallowed hard as he listened to the words from Luke, words that intrigued and scared him in equal measure.  “Yet you didn’t believe me when I said I’d broken it off with Justin and that I hadn’t done anything with Cooter.”

“The evidence was…against you.  I should have believed you because you’ve never lied to me, but I was hurting.  I saw you in bed with Cooter – who knows that I love you – and then I saw you laughing with Justin.  I should not have flown off the handle like I did though.  You’ve never lied to me, but I’ve been living a lie for a long time now.” Bo raised an eyebrow at that and Luke continued. “I lied when I told you that you smelled like beer and smoke.  I lied when I told you I didn’t want your help.” Luke got quiet for another minute, contemplating, “I lied when I told you I didn’t want you around – when all I really wanted was to hold you and be held by you.”

Bo’s silence stretched on for several minutes before he went on to explain. “As you know, I went out that night to go to a bar with Justin, a gay bar.  But I couldn’t do it, I just wasn’t in the mood for dancing and drinking.  I sent Justin on without me.  Cooter saw me, guessed that I probably didn’t need to go into the ‘Nest by myself and offered to get a case to take home.  We went back to his house and got drunk.  Drunk enough that when I lamented that you hated me he vehemently told me otherwise – and let slip that he knew you didn’t hate me because he knew you loved me.  We ended up ‘sleeping’ together that night because I didn’t want to be alone,“  Bo turned his gaze away, hesitant about voicing the next words, but feeling they needed to be spoken.  “And the thought of sleeping in the room that we’d shared at Cooter’s, without you, turned my stomach inside out.  I knew that even with the drink I wouldn’t be able to sleep,” Bo turned back toward his cousin, “When you came in and took after Cooter, I was terrified you were going to hurt him.  And I was shocked at the jealousy you were showing.  I guess that was the first time I really accepted that what I was seeing from you was jealousy – even though Cooter had said as much the night before.  After you left, I took off on foot, needing time to think about what you’d said, what Cooter had said, and how…” Bo paused for a moment, searching for the right word, “devastated you were when you left.  Justin saw me on the side of the road and convinced me to talk to him, and then let him take me home.  I suspect you saw us when we were parked in front of his house?” Bo waited for Luke’s nod of confirmation before continuing.  “When you saw us, I had just finished telling him about the time that we hung Enos up on the wall to keep him out of the way.  I had been telling him some of our stories – and in telling him our stories, I was remembering what I had to lose if I lost you.  I was talking with a friend, nothing more.”  Bo paused with a sigh, “given my reputation – and how well you know me – I can see why you might think differently. “

Luke gave a soft snort at that, “and given how well I know you, I should know that you don’t lie.  I am so sorry – for everything – Bo.  Please…say you’ll forgive me, as my friend and cousin, if nothing more.  I don’t want to lose that.  When I realized I’d really pushed you away…it nearly killed me.”

“I forgive you, Lukas,” the words were softly spoken, causing Luke to lean a little closer to the blond.  “I’m afraid of losing what we already have, but I want to see what more we maybe could have, if you still want that.”

Luke gasped at those words, never having expected to hear them.  “You mean that?  I mean….” Luke shook his head, realizing he was dangerously close to questioning Bo again. “You really want more with me?”

“I’ve had a lot of time to think over the past few days – a lot of time.  I realized that I love you, Luke.  That’s why Justin and I could only ever be friends.  That’s why I felt like my world was falling apart when you were pushing me away.  I want more with you.  Knowing us I expect it won’t be easy, but I want to love you.”

Luke closed his eyes and squeezed Bo’s hand. “Thank you.”

“Mmm…you’re welcome,” Bo ran his thumb across Luke’s knuckles in a gentle caress.  

Luke looked up at the blond and Bo could see the question in his eyes, “what is it, Luke?”

“How…um…”

“What?” Bo asked, curious because Luke never was one to fish for words.

“How slow do we want to take this?”

“Whatever feels right.”

Bo smiled as Luke stretched toward him, the classic picture of someone wanting a kiss but afraid to ask for it.  Obligingly, willingly, Bo leaned in and gently touched his lips to Luke’s, keeping this, their first kiss, light and gentle, full of love and exploration.  Bo brought his free hand up to touch Luke’s cheek and hold him there, stroking the other man with a tenderness that he had never felt with anyone – certainly not Justin, nor any of the women that he had previously been with.  The young man realized then that this was the embodiment of the love he felt for Lukas.  

Luke met Bo’s kiss with a gentleness that surprised even him, letting Bo taste him without pressing for more.  The brunet simply delighted in the first time he’d ever been kissed by the person whom he was in love with… It was also the first time that he had ever kissed another man and he couldn’t help but compare it to the touch of any number of women that he’d been with.  Bo’s mouth was gentle, but not overly soft, the pressure enough to convey his love, but not so light as to be teasing, or so passionate to signal that he wanted to take it further.  When he felt the soft touch of Bo’s tongue against the corner of his mouth he couldn’t have stopped himself from parting his lips to welcome the deepening of the kiss if he’d tried.  The touch of Bo’s hand against his cheek as the kiss deepened was like nothing Luke had ever experienced.

When Bo pulled back, he gave a parting, soft, kiss to Luke’s lower lip, almost as though he didn’t want to let go at the moment.  He drew back and smiled at Luke, thumb tracing the full lips that were slightly swollen from his kiss.   Bo’s smile lit up the night, as far as Luke was concerned, and could see through eyelids that didn’t want to stay open, eyes that wanted to close again to experience another of those kisses.  

After a moment Luke managed to fully open his eyes, letting himself take in all of Bo’s features. The dark blue eyes, his bright blond hair and the full mouth, he was gorgeous and Luke could hardly believe that Bo wanted him.  

Bo was feeling more relaxed than he had in days, months even, and it was all he could do to stifle a yawn.  Luke caught the almost-yawn and noted the look in his cousin’s eyes – after all, many years of dealing with a young Bo who didn’t want to sleep taught him what to look for.  “When was the last time you slept?”

“Couple nights ago,” Bo answered sheepishly.

“Think you can sleep now?”

“Probably.”

“Come on, let’s get you home.”

“But I was enjoyin’ what we were doin’.”

“Don’t worry, Bo, there’ll be plenty of time for more of that,” Luke reassured the young man, tugging him to the edge of the hood and leaning in to give the blond a quick kiss.  “But right now, you need sleep – and frankly so do I.  Come home with me? “

Bo was surprised at the easiness of the quick kiss Luke gave him but recovered quickly, gently teasing, “I don’t know, Luke, there’s a double bed in my room at the boarding house…”

Luke just grinned at that, “mind sharing?”

“Nope.”

“Sold,” Luke smiled, tugging Bo by the hand. “I’m driving, I at least got a few minutes of sleep in the last 24 hours.”

“Okay,” Bo’s answer was so quick that Luke knew the younger man was really tired.  Once Bo settled into the passenger seat, Luke started the car and headed toward town, not surprised in the least that his blond cousin was asleep by the time they hit the main road.

Bo woke in the morning to a feeling that he hadn’t experienced in months, the feeling of Luke’s arms around him, holding him close.  His mind flitted back to the night before, the talk he’d had with Luke.  As his mind drifted over the kiss they’d shared he felt his heart melting and a stirring in his gut that had never felt quite so good before.  Slowly, so as not to wake the sleeping brunet, Bo turned in Luke’s arms and watched the other man sleep. Taking in how relaxed Luke looked, how much younger and more vulnerable he seemed.  Bo cherished the minutes just watching his cousin.  

Luke slowly woke, feeling eyes on him, but not feeling that it was a threat.  He slowly opened his eyes to meet the blue ones of his cousin – and he hoped lover.  That thought sent a wave of longing through him, though the longing was nearly overshadowed by fear.  Luke hoped that what was started the previous night was not just the blond feeling sorry for him or wanting to make up their friendship so badly that he would do anything, even if it wasn’t what he truly wanted.

Bo smiled as Luke woke, a slow smile that lit up his face and showed the joy in his heart.  But he sensed Luke’s fear almost the second that it hit the brunet. “Luke, what’s wrong?”

Luke gazed at the younger man in surprise, words to brush off the question on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t lie to Bo – not now.  “Are you sure that this is what you want?  Us?  Together?”

Bo smiled, bringing his hand to Luke’s cheek once again before leaning in and brushing a kiss against warm lips. “Yes.” He kissed Luke again, lingering this time and when he pulled back he looked deep into the brunet’s eyes.  “I love you.  I ain’t never had a real relationship, so I’m a little nervous, I admit, but I love you.”  Bo saw the hesitation in Luke’s features, and realized that the older man needed more, “and I don’t mean as kin, Lukas.  I want to love you, touch you, be with you.  I want to have the right to kiss you when I want, to lay in your arms at night and wake up with you in the morning.   All that, plus I want to work next to you, play with you, race with you – everything we ever had before, but more.” The blond took Luke’s hand in his and gave the knuckles a kiss.  “Is that what you want?”

“More than anything.” 

“Good,” Bo smiled, kissing Luke again, deepening it this time as he let go of Luke’s hand and stroked the soft skin of Luke’s side, down to his hip, holding him close.  He left his hand against Luke’s hip, and brushed his thumb against the cotton of Luke’s shorts, keeping his touch light, but he could feel the reaction he was getting from his cousin. 

“Mmm…” Luke purred, returning the touch, letting himself really touch the blond as a lover for the first time.  “It was so hard when we stayed at Cooter’s, not to do this when I woke up with you every morning,” Luke confessed. “I loved holding you at night and feeling you against me in the morning.”

“I loved it too, Luke, and hopefully we’ll be doing that for a long time to come.”

“Hopefully,” Luke answered, leaning in to kiss the blond this time, allowing his tongue to brush the seam of Bo’s lips, tasting him and asking for entrance, which Bo eagerly granted.

The two men lay there kissing and touching for long minutes, enjoying the laziness of waking like this, knowing that it would be a rare treat.  

When they paused to take a breath, Luke looked up into Bo’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Bo, I am going to need to take this slow…I ain’t never…” the brunet’s voice trailed off.

“You’ve never been with a man before?” Bo correctly guessed, smiling when Luke shook his head and gave a very quiet ‘no’.   “Don’t worry, Luke, I’ll be patient with you, and we’ll take things at whatever pace you want. I, for one, am enjoying this right here.”  With that, Bo kissed Luke again, letting it deepen of its own accord, before drawing back with a lick to Luke’s bottom lip. “Besides, I ain’t never really made love before,” Bo softly stated, “I’ve been with others, but never loved them like I do you.” 

Luke could feel the smile breaking free with Bo’s statement and he stroked Bo’s arm and up into his blond hair, loving the feeling of the soft curls against his fingertips.  “I love you, Bo Duke.” 

“Love you too,” Bo grinned.

The moment was broken when they heard sounds of the door across the hall being opened, followed by the sound of a feminine voice singing a popular country tune.  At this reminder that they weren’t alone both men groaned.

“What do we want to do?” Luke asked. “I doubt that we can get away with living here – even if the bed is nice and big – for very long without being put into a double room.”

“Let’s go home…the beds might be smaller, but at least there we ain’t got to hide.” Bo grinned at Luke “You are still going to explain to me why our kin – and Cooter – knew how you felt before I did.” The words were serious, but the tone light, showing that the blond wasn’t seriously upset by it.  

“I will, promise.” Luke sealed that promise with a quick kiss and gave Bo a playful shove. “Come on, as much as I like laying here with you, we should get a move on.  Go home and face the music.” At Bo’s look, Luke explained, “Jesse knows I was coming to talk to you last night.  He’s going to wonder why I’m not home.”

“Ah, then yeah, we should get going.” Bo stood up and held a hand out to Luke, who took it and let himself be helped to his feet.  “We will continue this later,” Bo playfully threatened, giving Luke one more kiss and stroking his hand down the bare chest of his soon-to-be lover. 

“Count on it,” Luke answered, groaning at the intimate touch.

 

Packing up Bo’s meager possessions didn’t take long, and soon both the General and Dixie were pulling up in front of the Duke farm.  Bo slid from the General and grabbed his suitcase from the back seat.  Luke stepped out of Dixie and met Bo by the car.  Bo slung his free arm around Luke’s shoulders, then glanced around and noticed no one was around.  He softly said Luke’s name so the older man would look at him, then pressed a quick kiss to Luke’s lips.

“What’d I do to deserve that?” Luke asked with a smile.

“Nothin’, just somethin’ to hold us over until later,” Bo answered with a grin.

 

What the men did not realize, was that Daisy was watching from the kitchen window, having just finished washing the breakfast dishes.  She rushed into the living room and grinned at Jesse, who was sitting in his chair with the newspaper.

“What’s got you grinnin’ like the Cheshire cat?” 

“Bo an’ Luke are home – and looks like their together.” 

“Together as in….?”

Daisy rolled her eyes, “they kissed out in the driveway.”

“Now, you leave them be, let them tell us in their own time, Daisy-girl.”

“I know, just this is what Luke’s wanted for so long.”

“It is,” Jesse said, smiling as the kitchen door opened.

“Jesse, Daisy?” Luke called out, not realizing that they had already been caught.

“We’re in here,” Daisy responded.

“I’m home – and I brought someone with me.” Luke couldn’t hide the smile in his voice, made even bigger by the fact that Bo hadn’t let go of him since they got out of the car.  To anyone else, it would look like the friendly ‘hanging on’ that Bo had always done, but Luke couldn’t help but feel it was more now.

“Bo!” Daisy yelled, jumping up and rushing her blond cousin.

“Hey Daisy,” Bo grinned, letting go of Luke long enough to wrap his arms around his girl cousin.

“Are you home for good?” Daisy asked, looking up at the blond, though she’d seen the suitcase and very well knew the answer.

“If y’all don’t mind,” Bo answered, his gaze going from Daisy to Jesse.

“It’s your home, Bo, you know that,” Jesse said, standing up and nudging Daisy out of the way to wrap his arms around Bo.

“Thank you, Uncle Jesse,” Bo said, releasing the hug and returning his arm to around Luke’s shoulder.

Jesse took in the sight of his boys back together, like they should always be. His next words were addressed to Luke, though, “I take it that you boys made up?”

Luke smiled and nudged an elbow against Bo’s side gently, “we did.”  Luke took a deep breath, deciding that he might as well tell them now, since it didn’t look like he was getting rid of his clingy cousin anytime soon – not that he would want to!   “Actually,” he glanced at Bo, waiting for a quick nod from the blond before continuing, “we more than made up.  I finally – properly – told Bo how I feel about him.  And he’s giving me a chance.”

“More than a chance, Lukas,” Bo said quietly. 

Daisy and Jesse smiled at them, Jesse speaking for both of them – his voice a bit gruff with the relief he felt. “Good, you both deserve a chance.  Be good to each other. “The warning was not missed by either of the men standing there. 

“I think, Uncle Jesse,” Bo said, turning to gaze at Luke, “that’ll be easier, now that we’re done hiding things.”

“I think so too,” Jesse said.  After a moment’s silence, in which he was sure that the boys would be kissing if they weren’t in ‘public’, he spoke again, “Okay, why don’t you go get unpacked, there’s still work to be done.”

Both boys laughed and answered together “Yes, Sir,” turning they made their way down the hall toward their room, Bo finally letting go of Luke long enough to move, though no one missed that he didn’t allow much space between the two of them.

 

Luke watched Bo unpack, grateful that the blond seemed to realize that despite his normal confidence, Luke felt the need for reassurance that he hadn’t talked Bo into anything against his will.  

Once Bo unpacked he took a seat next to Luke on the twin bed, “that went easier than I expected.”

“They already knew,” Luke answered.

“Why could you tell them and not me?”

“Because I didn’t want to lose you,” Luke answered, looking up at his blond cousin.  “I knew that everything would change if you knew, and didn’t want to risk what we already had.”

“No more worries about that, okay?”

“Yeah,” Luke answered, pressing a soft kiss to Bo’s lips. “Daisy said you was afraid of commitment,” Luke said, pulling back just slightly. “What changed?”

Bo shrugged, “it’s you.”

“Huh?”

Bo bit his lip, thinking how to word his answer, “I was always afraid to commit to someone because they would take me away from you.  I never let myself even think that I was in love with you because I didn’t think there was any way you’d feel the same and I didn’t want to get hurt.  But every time someone looked like they wanted to get serious, I pulled away because I didn’t want them trying to replace you.” Bo paused, his hand reaching for Luke’s.  “So, what changed was that I’m committing to you.”

Luke grinned, “we’ve wasted a lot of time.”

“Nah, we just beat around a few bushes to get here – and here’s exactly where I wanna be,” Bo answered, kissing Luke again, his free hand cupping the older man’s cheek, holding him close.

“Boys!”

The kiss was broken with a groan at the call from their uncle.

“Later,” Bo promised

“Dang right!” Luke groaned. “Coming Uncle Jesse!” he called out. “Come on, let’s go get our work done,” Luke said, standing and tugging Bo up with him.  

 

Luke looked up from his magazine as Bo came out of the shower, hair wet and still tousled.  “Good look on you,” Luke said with a grin.

“Ya think?” Bo asked, sitting down next to the brunet.

Luke laughed, “Yeah, I think.  I also think that we have one more person we need to tell today.” 

Bo looked questioningly at his cousin.

“Cooter.”

“I wasn’t sure we were telling anyone outside the family.”

Luke shrugged, “he already knows that I love you, I figure we best let him know I finally got my head out of my butt and told you so.”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

“Come on,” Luke stood and reached for the blond, “the longer we sit here, the harder it’s going to be for me to want to go anywhere.”

Bo stood and followed Luke out the kitchen door, encountering Jesse on the front porch.  Jesse didn’t look up from the bushel of beans he was snapping, but spoke quietly, “will you boys be home tonight?”

“Yeah, we’re just going to go see Cooter,” Luke answered.

“Be careful – have fun.”

“We will.”

“If you do decide to stay out, well, I understand…” Jesse looked up then, giving the boys a knowing look.

“Maybe another time,” Bo answered, catching Jesse’s meaning, but knowing that neither of them were ready for much yet, they still needed time to settle into this relationship.

“Okay, have fun,” Jesse called as the boys ran to the car and laughed as they slid in.  He couldn’t help but think how good the day had been, the boys laughing together instead of the silent scowling that he had been getting much too used to.

 

Cooter was in his kitchen when he heard a very familiar sound approaching the house.  He watched the General Lee pull to a stop and his friends slide out of the car. Luke reached back in and came out with a six pack of beer.  Cooter grinned as he saw the cousins meet up and walk up to the porch together.

 

Bo glanced nervously at Luke when the brunet knocked on the door. “Relax, Bo, it’s going to be fine…he’s going to be fine.”

Bo nodded, one hand sliding down to the middle of Luke’s back, touching lightly, and, if Luke thought about it, a little possessively.  He kind of liked it.

“To what do I owe this honor?” Cooter asked, opening the door and taking the beer from Luke.

“We’re celebrating,” Luke answered stepping in, his blond hot on his heels.

“Well all right then!” Cooter chuckled, handing a beer to each of the boys and keeping one for himself.  They opened the beer and Cooter looked at Luke, “What are we celebrating?”

Luke grinned, “the fact that I’m the happiest man on earth today.” 

Bo chuckled, “one of them anyway.”

Cooter looked from one to the other, “’bout damned time you two got your heads out of your asses and got together.” He grinned at them, holding his beer aloft in a salute, “Congratulations!”

“Thanks Cooter,” both Duke’s answered together, laughing as they all took a drink.

 

A few weeks later, found Bo sitting on the porch at Cooter’s house, where he and Luke were staying while Cooter was visiting relatives in Tennessee.   Luke came out onto the porch with a beer in each hand and found the younger man staring up at the night sky.

“You okay, Bo?” The dark-haired man asked, setting the bottles aside and running his hand from the base of Bo’s spine, to rest lightly against his neck.  

Bo sighed at the touch of his lover, enjoying the peace of the evening and the presence of the person he loved more than anyone. “Yeah, just thinking.” 

“About?”

“You realize that this is the first time we’ve really been alone in a house since we got together?”

“Mmm…yeah, that had occurred to me,” Luke grinned, leaning in to kiss his blond.  “Not that I mind hanging out down by the creek, or out at the Indian caves – we’ve had some fun out there.”  Luke’s voice warmed as he allowed his mind to drift over just how much ‘fun’ they’d had.  He remembered the first time that Bo had touched him intimately, Bo’s warm hand – larger than anyone who’d ever touched him – stroking down his chest, teasing his nipples, ghosting over his manhood, knowing just how to touch without teasing, and yet without being rough.  He had been worried, taking those first steps beyond kissing, he didn’t think he’d ever tire of kissing Bo, but anything more was worrisome because it meant that they couldn’t go back.  Now, after the past several weeks, Luke wouldn’t want to go back – even if he could.

“We have, but I want to have more fun with you…in a soft bed like we’ve got here, rather than against the ground, or in the General…especially since I want…” Bo licked his lips and shifted his eyes aside, uncertain if he should finish the sentence.

“You want what, Bo?” Luke’s voice was soft, his fingers brushing against Bo’s cheek, resting against the back of the blond’s neck.

“I want…you…all of you,” Bo murmured, his heart pounding with the words.

“You already have me, Bo,” Luke muttered, leaning in to kiss Bo once again, this time letting his tongue brush against Bo’s lips until the younger man parted for his entrance.  Once inside, Luke took a long time stroking Bo’s tongue, the two tangling together, the erotic kiss its own form of love-making.

When the kiss broke, Bo gazed at his lover, “Mmm…just like you have all of me – but what I meant is that I want you in me.”

Luke’s eyes turned black with desire and he felt a stirring in his loins at Bo’s words.  The brunet had to swallow hard before he spoke, “you’re sure?”

Bo grinned at him, “positive.”

“I’ve hardly let myself think about that, I didn’t want to force you.”

“You’re definitely not forcing me…I want you so bad, Luke.”

“Let’s finish our beer and go to bed…”

“Sounds good,” Bo murmured, once again leaning into Luke and kissing him passionately.  When the kiss parted, Bo turned Luke in his arms and pulled the older man against him, holding him close and murmuring in his ear, eliciting low moans from the brunet.

 

Luke waited in the bedroom that he and Bo had used previously.  The blond was finishing up in the washroom and making sure the lights in the main part of the house were off.   As he lay on the bed, Luke let his mind wander over the first time that he and Bo had done anything other than kiss.  The day had been bright, the sun shining on them as they swam in the pond.  Luke couldn’t take his eyes off of the blond, riveted to the sight of Bo as they played and swam.  

Bo came into the bedroom and caught the faraway look on his love’s face.  He closed the door and quickly stripped down to his shorts.  Climbing up from the foot of the bed he lay facing Luke and reached out to rest his hand against Luke’s shoulder, thumb stroking the spot on his collarbone that previous experience had shown made Luke shiver.  “Penny for your thoughts.”

Luke smiled and gave a quiet groan at the touch of Bo’s caress. “I was thinking of the first day down at the pond, the way you touched me, how right and natural it felt, having your hands all over me, how hard I was for you.”

“Mmmm….you were at that.  I loved showing you just how much I love you.” Bo had the grace to blush with his next words, “I love knowing that you’d never known another man’s touch before mine.” 

Luke laughed softly, “’n here I was glad that you knew how to touch me – that you had some experience so that I don’t worry as much about hurting you.”

“It doesn’t bother you?” Bo asked, the question had been on his mind over the past few weeks of their relationship.

In answer Luke leaned in and pressed his lips to Bo’s, tasting the beer and the something extra that was just – Bo.  Luke parted the younger man’s lips, using his tongue to tangle with the blonds, stroking in the manner that he wanted to stroke elsewhere.  His hand found Bo’s hip and he rubbed gentle circles with his thumb.

Bo moaned into Luke’s mouth, the light massage that Luke was giving him coming tantalizingly close to where Bo wanted him to touch, but stopping just short.  When the kiss parted Bo drew back and licked his lips, dark blue eyes catching light. “Show me I’m yours, Lukas…”

Luke moaned in response, pressing Bo back against the bed, kissing him again, quickly, on the mouth before drawing back and running a line of kisses against Bo’s jaw, up to tug against the delicate lobe of his ear, “I intend to.” 

Bo’s breath caught at the hot breath washing over his ear.  He’d never thought that to be a particularly sensitive zone, but found that with Luke, everything was more sensitive.  His hands stroked down Luke’s back and over the curve of his rear, fingers clenching rhythmically, want curling through his belly.  

Luke chuckled softly as he felt the shiver rush through his lover.  He knew he would never tire of being able to turn Bo on like this, to make him shiver with one stroke, one well-placed whisper.  

Bo moaned at the chuckle.

“What?” Luke murmured.

“You’re so danged sexy…” Bo answered, nuzzling against Luke’s shoulder, tugging his hips harder, trying to increase the friction against his too-tight shorts.

“So ‘r you,” Luke responded, trailing kisses down Bo’s jaw, skimming briefly over the parted, full lips, then down to brush against the light smattering of hair dusting Bo’s chest, the blond curls baby-soft under Luke’s lips.  Turning his head he brushed a kiss against a warm nipple, knowing that to be another sensitive spot for his love.  As Bo arched in response, Luke licked and suckled that warm nub, moaning as Bo writhed under him.

Bo felt everything in him turn to molten lava under Luke’s lips.  When Luke touched his lips to his nipple, it was all Bo could do to not grab Luke’s head and push it down harder, he moaned, struggling to form words. “Yeah….oh that’s good…”

“Mmm…yeah,” Luke moaned against Bo’s skin, lips skimming over the expanse of his lover’s chest to tease his blond’s neglected nub into a hard point, using his tongue to play with the sensitive tip.

“Luke….” Bo keened, fingers tugging against Luke’s rear.  “Yer a tease…”

“Mmm-hmm,” Luke grinned, drawing back just enough to let his breath wash against a wet peak. “Love playing with you.”

Bo groaned again, arching his hips against Luke’s , pressing their erections together.  “Never thought you’d want to make love with another man….and here you are, a world-class tease...You’ve taken to this quite well.”

“Good reason to,” Luke murmured, trailing his lips back up to catch Bo’s once again, giving a tantalizingly brief kiss to the full lower lip.  “Love you.” 

“Love you too, but I’d love you more if you’d quit teasin’,” Bo rasped out, his voice betraying his need, his longing.

Luke laughed softly, “Soon, lover, soon,” he grinned, once again kissing his way down Bo’s torso, this time only bestowing light kisses against each nipple to keep them achingly hard.  As his lips found their way down to the briefs that still covered his lover’s shaft, Luke used thumbs to caress the join of hip and thigh, but didn’t allow the touch where Bo wanted it the most.  Instead, he let his lips trail down over the tops of the briefs, touching the damp spot where Bo’s essence had escaped.  “Mmm….”

“Luke….” Bo was so hard he didn’t know if he could take much more teasing – and yet he was so caught up in his lover that he would do his best to give the brunet whatever he wanted, and it appeared that at that moment, Luke wanted to torment him.  

“Mmm…you are so hot, so hard…” Luke whispered, using his nose to scent and nuzzle the evidence of Bo’s arousal.  He loved teasing his lover like this. He liked knowing that he could set the pace.  And if he were honest with himself, he loved holding off his own pleasure and his loves because he knew that the release would be that much more intense.

“Only for you, Lukas…” Bo moaned, hands sliding up Luke’s back to grip his shoulders, the torment of Luke’s touch through cloth both maddening and incredibly arousing.  “You’re so good at this…” Bo complimented, Luke was good not only at teasing, but knowing just how and when to touch for the most pleasure, and knowing when to pull back to prolong that pleasure.

“I love touching you.  Knowing that it’s my right…knowing that I have permission without asking,” Luke glanced up at the blue eyes of his lover as he spoke. “Knowing I have the right to kiss and touch you.” Suiting action to word Luke lowered his lips again and touched a kiss to the tip of Bo’s manhood, brushing his tongue against it, the cotton of his shorts hardly a barrier to the heat radiating from the blond.  

“Luke…please…” Bo moaned, the torture was wonderful, but he wanted Luke’s lips without anything between them. “I need you.”

“Mmm….” Luke murmured, though finally he took pity on his lover and drew back, sliding the blonds shorts down his long legs and off, dropping them to the side of the bed.  As he stood, he slowly dropped his own shorts.  Leaning back he closed his eyes and took himself in hand, giving one slow stroke, then squeezing hard to keep from coming before he was ready, feeling like a teenager. 

Bo watched as Luke stripped, licking his lips at the erotic sight of the brunet stroking his own erection.  “You’re gorgeous,” the blond murmured.  

Luke opened his eyes, taking in the sight of his blond lover laying there, manhood jutting proudly from its light nest of curls, hot and hard, long and perfectly shaped.  Crawling back up the bed, Luke took Bo in hand and gave him a slow stroke and squeeze, prolonging the need for release.

Bo was grateful for the touch of his lover, especially since in the next minute, Luke kissed the tip of his erection and gave a warm lick and suckle to the head.  Bo moaned and arched, fingers brushing against already –sensitive nipples as he watched and felt his love’s touch.  Sex with Luke – even if this was the first time that they intended to go ‘all the way’, had been better than sex with anyone else had ever been.  It was truly making love.

“You’re amazing…” Luke murmured.  “Soon, Lover, our roles will be reversed,” Luke promised, his voice just a whisper.  “I can’t wait to feel you inside of me.” Luke gave one last kiss with those words, knowing that Bo was on the brink – heck he himself was nearly ready to give into his need to come, but he wanted to be with Bo so badly.  

Bo’s manhood quivered with Luke’s words, a jolt of desire rushing through him at the thought of burying himself in the tight heat of his lover.  “I know just how you feel…” Bo groaned,  “please, Luke, take me, make me yours…”

“You’re already mine,” Luke whispered, kissing Bo as he shifted, reaching for the bottle of oil left on the nightstand. 

“Mmm…true, but I want you.  I want to feel you moving in me.”

“Bo!” Luke nearly lost it with the plea from his blond.

Bo chuckled, stroking a hand down Luke’s chest, teasing the brunet’s nipples, carding through the dark hair that covered his breastbone.  

Luke moved back down, though this time he studiously avoided kissing Bo’s manhood, knowing if he did, this would all be over – for both of them.  Instead he kissed and nuzzled at the join of hip and thigh as he poured a bit of oil into his palm, blowing on it to warm it, which caused Bo to jump again, since he blew in the direction of Bo’s sensitive manhood.  

Bo moaned as Luke reached down and caressed the tight pucker guarding his entrance, he took a deep breath and felt his body start to respond, clenching and unclenching, eager for the intrusion.

“You like this…” Luke’s voice was tinged with amazement as he brushed against the winking opening.  Slowly he let one finger slip inside, stretching his lover as much as possible before adding a second.  His groin tightened at the thought of how hot and tight Bo was. “You’re so tight…”

“I love this…and I love you. And this is going to feel amazing for both of us.” Bo brushed damp curls from Luke’s forehead.  “Give me three, love, I can take it,” he moaned.

Luke responded by adding a third finger, stretching Bo as much as possible.  When he didn’t think he could stretch his blond any more, Luke drew back and knelt more fully between Bo’s knees…”Ya wanna roll over, or be on your side?”

“No, I wanna see your face, watch your pleasure as you sink into me,” Bo reached for Luke. “I’m ready.   I’m so hot I’m burning, and only for you.” 

“Dang, Bo…” Luke groaned, using one hand to line himself up, leaning forward to position himself over his lover, moving slowly and carefully he sank into the tightest heat he’d ever known.  What felt like hours, but was probably only minutes later, Luke knew he had gone as far as he could go.  His breathing was shallow, his eyes dilated until they were black as night.

Bo moaned as he felt Luke’s thick erection enter him.  The slide of the other man caressed every inch and felt incredibly slick and hot.  He reached for Luke, stroking his hands over his lover’s broad chest, down the muscles of arms that were corded in their effort to keep himself above his mate.  “So good…oh…”

Bo’s words spurred Luke on. Slowly he drew back, sinking in again, and again.  Never had anything felt so good, so perfect.  

The two men moved together in a dance as old as time, with the grace of people used to working together.  Bo’s hands stroked over every inch of skin he could reach, caressing and teasing his lover.  Luke finally allowed one hand to come up and touch Bo’s cheek as he leaned down on an in-stroke and kissed the blond senseless.  When the kiss was released they were both breathless.  

“Can’t hold out much longer, Bo.”

“Don’t want ya to, Lukas,” Bo answered, arching up as Luke stroked in, meeting his lover’s thrust.  “Wanna feel you – all of you.   You won’t hurt me,” Bo reassured.

Luke responded with first another kiss, then a quickening of his pace, the hand that he was using to touch Bo with dropping to stroke his lover’s erection in time to his thrusts.  “Close, Bo…so close…”

“That’s it, come on, Luke…yeah…yeah…” Bo’s words were getting frantic with need, his breathing ragged, his body on fire, the need to release coiling in him.

“Yeah, oh…” Luke started thrusting harder, faster, pumping his manhood into the tightest sheath he’d ever known, claiming the person he loved like no other.  

The pace became erratic, hard, hot.  Neither man could hold on.  Bo’s hand joined Luke’s on his own erection.  Feeling the heat against his hand was the last straw for the blond, with a scream of his lover’s name he erupted, spilling his release over his own belly and Luke’s.

Luke couldn’t take Bo’s release without giving into his own.  With two last, hard, thrusts he cried out Bo’s name and came deep inside the blond.  Not wanting to let go, Luke stayed still, using two hands to hold himself upright.

Bo cried out again as he felt Luke release inside of him, it felt better than anything, amazing.  “Thank you.” Bo moaned, using two hands to draw Luke’s lips to his and kissing him fiercely.  As Luke settled low over Bo, the blond managed to shift them, turning them so that he was on top of the stronger man, his lips over Luke’s, kissing him passionately again.

Luke moaned, finding himself under his lover and getting some of the hottest kisses he’d ever felt. His hands stroked Bo’s hair, over his back, down his sides, mapping the younger man with every touch.  “Love you.” 

“Love you too,” Bo answered, brushing a kiss against Luke’s pounding heart, barely realizing that his own was thumping just as hard.

“That was…wow…” Luke murmured after a few minutes of basking in the aftershocks, stroking his blond, recovering.

“Yeah, it was.  I can’t wait to do it again.” 

Luke laughed softly, “you’re insatiable.”

“Yep, I am, you lucky Duke,” Bo answered, kissing Luke’s chest.

“Aint sure how we’re going to go back to the farm and not want to do that every night,” Luke mused, fingers stroking through blond curls that lay against his chest.

“We’ll figure something out,” Bo answered sleepily.

Luke caught the sleepiness in his blonds voice and silently shifted them so that his now softened manhood slipped free of it’s sheath.  Much as he would have loved to have never left that intimate embrace, he knew that if they were going to sleep, he had to or it would be painful for both of them.

Bo moaned at the loss of the joining, but snuggled in more as Luke settled them back down. “Night, Love.” 

“Night, Sweetheart.”

 

Luke woke the next morning to the feeling of warmth curled around him, and gentle fingers carding through his hair.  He opened sleepy eyes to look lovingly at his partner.  “Mmm…”

“Morning.” 

“Morning,” Luke answered, leaning in to give Bo a warm kiss.  “I could get used to this.” 

“Yeah, me too.  I’ve missed sleeping with you.”

“Yeah, I know, I’ve missed sleeping next to you too.  The beds at home are just too small…and we can’t go camping _every_ night.” 

Bo grinned at the teasing in his lover’s voice. “No, I s’pose not.”  Bo drew back a bit and looked at Luke.  “Maybe we should consider getting a double bed.”

“I ain’t sure how Jesse and Daisy would feel about that.   Even if we don’t ‘do’ anything when their around, it might really bother them to know that we’re sleeping together.”

“Maybe, but they already know that we’re together.”

Luke sighed, “true.  We’ll think on it, maybe I’ll talk to Jesse when we go home day after tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

“In the meantime, we’ve got chores to do…and two more days of being alone in the house, with plenty of time to ‘explore’.”  Luke grinned at his cousin as he made his suggestion.

Bo groaned, “I never knew you were such a tease.”

“Regretting getting hooked up with me?” Luke teased, though part of him was afraid the answer might be ‘yes’.

“Not a chance, Lukas,” Bo answered, leaning in to give his brunet a kiss.  As the lingering kiss ended, Bo pulled back and slid from the bed to get dressed. “Better get to chores and breakfast – otherwise it’ll be dinner time before I let you go.”

“Good as that sounds, the animals would be awfully put out with us,” Luke answered as he threw off the covers and gathered his clothes together.

Bo couldn’t help but watch the brunet dress, he was the best-looking guy around, and Bo couldn’t help but think how lucky he was that Luke was his.

“I love the look you’re giving me, Bo, but if we don’t move….it’ll be tomorrow before I let you out of this room.” Luke gave Bo a quick kiss, then a gentle shove toward the door. 

 

The boys spent the next few days exploring the newest part of their relationship, just enjoying not having to be careful that someone else might see them together.  Their last night at Cooter’s found them sitting on the couch, Bo’s head buried in a car magazine, Luke’s attention focused on the guitar he was trying to tune.

Suddenly Luke looked over at Bo and gave a grin and a chuckle. Bo looked up in time to see his brunet shake his head.  “What’s up, cousin?”

“It just struck me that for everything that’s changed, a lot has remained the same.”

Bo took a look around them, and had to smile.  “Yeah, I s’pose you’re right.  And I wouldn’t trade a minute of it for anything.”

“Me either,” Luke said, going back to his tuning as Bo picked up his magazine again.

 

The next morning, Cooter arrived back at the farm just as the boys were finishing up breakfast.  He pulled his truck to a stop next to the General and walked into the house, chuckling when he saw Bo with his hands in the dishwater and Luke holding the drying towel.  “Morning, boys.  I see love has turned you absolutely domestic,” the mechanic said with a huge grin.

At the comment Luke wound up his towel into a rope, “we’ll show you ‘domestic’,” he said and started stalking the other man.

Cooter made for the bedroom, taking off like a shot.  Luke grinned and chuckled, leaning back into the warmth of his blond as Bo joined him in the living room and draped his hands over Luke’s shoulders. 

“You can come out now, wimp,” Luke called. 

Cooter stuck his head around the doorframe, taking in the sight of his two friends standing there, like it was the most natural thing in the world for them – and in truth it was.

“Nice to see you kept this place in one piece while I was gone.”

“Yep, didn’t even have any wild parties.  Just the two of us – all weekend long,” Bo grinned, chuckling at Cooter’s blush.

“I don’t wanna know,” Cooter groaned, shaking his head.  

“No, you probably don’t,” Luke agreed.  “But we appreciated it.  We’ll house-sit any time.”

“I’m sure you will,” Cooter said, mock-groaning. 

“Yeah, we sure will,” Bo’s tone of voice gave away his thoughts on the matter.

“We best get going, Jesse’ll probably need help with chores and stuff.”

“Yeah, probably,” Bo agreed, stepping back.  “Speaking of which, your animals are all set for this morning.” 

“Thanks guys, I really do appreciate it.”

“Glad to help, Cooter,” Luke answered, grabbing their duffle bag from where he’d left it on the couch when they got up that morning.

“See ya later, Cooter,” Bo said, looking back over Luke’s shoulder.

Cooter just grinned and waved at his friends.

 

Jesse and Daisy were sitting in the kitchen, sipping coffee when they heard the General pull into the farmyard.  A minute later the door was opening to admit the two cousins.  

“Hey, welcome home!” Daisy said, standing and giving each of the boys a hug.  “We missed you.” 

“You just missed having us do chores,” Luke teased.

“That too,” Daisy said, grinning.

 

 

“You boys leave Cooter’s house in one piece?” Jesse asked, grinning at his boys.

“Yep, just like it was when he left,” Luke answered.

“Only better, because we cleaned up some and did some minor repairs,” Bo finished, chuckling.

“Wow…here I thought the two of you would barely be able to handle chores,” Daisy said, laughing.

“Ha-ha, cousin, very funny,” Bo answered.  

Luke nudged Bo in the stomach with his elbow, “she’s just tryin’ to rile us, Bo, don’t let her get to ya.” 

Bo shook his head, “yeah, you’re right Luke…girls.”

Daisy laughed at that, “boys,” she responded.

“Why don’t you two go put your things away, there’s a little more coffee, then I have a few things I need you to fix.”

“Sure, Uncle Jesse,” Luke answered, grabbing Bo by the arm as the blond started to head toward the coffee pot.

“Luke!” Bo protested, “It don’t take two of us to put one bag in the bedroom.”

“Maybe not, but he said for both of us to do it.”

“Fine,” Bo pouted but followed Luke into the bedroom.

Neither of the boys noticed Jesse and Daisy quietly following them.  Daisy gave Jesse a grin as Luke opened the door.

“What the!?” Luke exclaimed in shock when he opened the door.

“What is it, Luke?” Bo had been a couple of steps behind Luke and he too stopped in his tracks when he looked into the room.

Luke turned and gaped at his uncle and girl cousin, shock plain as day in his bright blue eyes.

Bo turned and looked at Jesse, finding his tongue before his older cousin for once, “uh…not that we ain’t appreciatin’ it…but what happened to our beds?”

“They’re in my room,” Daisy answered, grinning at her cousin.  “I don’t need the double bed – it’s just me and if Mary Elizabeth or Stacey or one of my other girlfriends stays over, the twin bed’s’ll do just fine.”

“We told Cooter what we was thinkin’ and he picked up a new mattress set as a thank you for house-sitting for him,” Jesse finished. 

“You ain’t mad, are ya?” Daisy asked, suddenly worried that, good intentions or no, they’d overstepped.

“No, honey, we ain’t mad, just surprised,” Bo answered.  “We had been tossin’ the idea around but wasn’t sure how y’all’d feel about it.”

“You’ve both been really supportive of us, but we thought that maybe this would be too much,” Luke added.

Jesse smiled, “The rules is still the rules, what goes on behind closed doors ain’t none of our business, and you behave and have respect for us.  But that aside, I know how I woulda felt if I had to stay with Martha for too long in a room with just twin beds.  Shoot, we went to visit relatives once and both of us slept in one twin bed for a week…never had a sorer back than that week,” Jesse smiled and then grimaced at the memory.  “I figure it’s the same for the two of you.”

Luke smiled as Bo draped his arm across his shoulders.  The brunet leaned just a bit more than usual into that very familiar embrace.  “We’ll respect the two of you…it’s the least we can do since you’ve respected us.”

“It’s the least I can do for you – all of you – giving this old fool a second chance,” Jesse said, smiling at his ‘kids’.

“That’s over and done with, Jesse, you had your reasons, and we’re past it now,” Bo said, leaving Luke’s side to give Jesse a one-armed embrace.

“It’s good to have all my kids at home, where you belong.”

“It’s good to be home, Jesse,” Luke answered, moving closer to the group.

“Men…” Daisy said, laughing and rolling her eyes, she slung an arm around Jesse and one around Luke, drawing the group into a family hug.  “Just, be good to each other, okay.”

Luke glanced at Daisy, then turned his gaze to his blond, “Always,” Luke said, speaking  a promise, a vow, from his heart to his beloved.

“Always,” Bo echoed, tightening his arm where it rested once again around Luke’s shoulders.

Jesse looked at each one of his kids, giving them a smile.  He knew that it might not be easy for any of them, if what Bo and Luke had found got out, but, in looking at them, he couldn’t deny that they were the best ones to love each other and what they shared, while different than in the past, was not new –but something that had grown and blossomed over the years.  He knew that no matter what happened, they belonged together and he hoped that Daisy would find someone that completed her, as the boys had found each other.  

 

 

 

* * *

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.  
  
This story archived at <https://www.squidge.org/peja/cgi-bin/viewstory.php?sid=52739>


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